As the Pieces Fall Together
by FlameAlchemist007
Summary: Yagyuu wakes up one morning feeling unwell and is unable to go to school. Niou decides to do something for him, but was not expecting to end up in a situation where he had to make a complicated decision. Platinum Pair POV. Yanagi x Yagyuu & Niou x Yagyuu
1. Chapter 1 A Brilliant Plan

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T for implied adult themes in later chapters. This chapter is more of a K rating.

**Author's Note: **This is my first fanfic that I have uploaded online and I hope you like it. :) (The other ones I've started will probably never be finished, so I won't put them up). Anyway, this story is told from Yagyuu's or Niou's point of view depending on the chapter, although sometimes both of them will have have their own section in one chapter, like this first chapter.

It is a Platinum Pair fic, but it may not feel like it for part of the story. I find that a pair will find much more meaning in their relationship if they go through emotional barriers and other obstacles life throws at them. The pairs used in this story will be Yagyuu x Yanagi and Yagyuu x Niou. Why Yagyuu and Yanagi you may wonder? I feel that Yagyuu has more things in common with Yanagi than anyone else, especially in the way they approach what they do and the things that they excel in.

As for the inspiration for this story, I owe it all to Tenimyu. When I watched Dream Live 4th, Baba Tooru (the one who plays Yagyuu) immediately became my favorite actor because he portrayed Yagyuu perfectly. Then I watched Absolute King and I was amazed at the strong connection that Baba and Masa (the one who plays Niou) had with each other on the stage. The Platinum Pair became my favorite pairing and has remained that since that time in the summer of 2009.

I tried very hard to keep all of the characters as accurate in their personalities as I could - making sure that any action they did or any words that they said would be something that you could imagine them actually doing. With that last thought, please enjoy reading and please leave me a review of your thoughts. Thanks!

* * *

Hiroshi Yagyuu awoke to his alarm clock feeling more tired than usual. Turning over, he squinted to see the numbers on the clock before promptly shutting it off. He sat up, pulling the covers off of his pale and somewhat thin torso, and was about to climb out of bed when a wave of excruciating pain hit him.

'_Great, I have a massive headache,'_ thought Yagyuu irritably. Laying back down, he closed his eyes and hoped that a few more minutes of rest would ease the pain.

Ten minutes later, his mother knocked on the mahogany door of his bedroom, and called for him to wake up. Yagyuu slowly opened his gray eyes and sighed heavily because he he felt twice as worse as he did before he went back to sleep.

"Something wrong, Hiroshi?" questioned his mother, approaching her son with a mixture of curiosity and concern on her face.

"I don't feel too well, but I'll go to school."

His mother's cool hand on his forehead stopped him from sitting up.

"You have a really high temperature. I think you should stay home."

Yagyuu could not help but stare at his mother for suggesting such an outrageous idea. He prided himself on the fact that he had never missed a single day of school and a fever was not going to stop him.

"But mother..." Yagyuu started.

"Hiroshi, you'll regret making it worse by going today. Rest and then you can run all of those punishment laps that Sanada-kun will most likely assign you for missing practice."

Another point of pride for Yagyuu was his passion for tennis and his team, and he had never failed at showing up to practice early and ready to work. Yagyuu groaned - the thought of missing practice would mean that he would have to endure a few days of taunts from some of his teammates (namely Kirihara and Marui) in addition to running laps.

"I'm fine," Yagyuu protested. "I've had worse and I can't afford to miss school and practice."

"I know that," his mother replied smoothly, resting her hand on his. "I know you're very strong...strong-willed as well, but sometimes you have to take it easy for a day to be able to function to your full potential at school and for your team."

Yagyuu knew his mother made complete, logical sense, but Yagyuu did not want to follow her advice. He wanted to win this argument, but just before he opened his mouth to reply, he was hit with a strong feeling of nausea and sank back into his pillows.

"You're staying home, Hiroshi."

Yagyuu knew he had no way to convince his mother now since he felt too weak to move, let alone talk.

"Okay," Yagyuu said with resignation in his voice. "But can I at least call Niou-kun and let him know that I will not be attending class or practice today?"

"Of course," his mother said endearingly, reaching for the phone on the bedside table and handing it to him. "I'll go make you something small to eat." Yagyuu waited until his mother was out of the room before dialing Niou's number.

"Hey Yagyuu..." Niou answered sleepily. "What's going on?"

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Yes, it's six a.m. and you better have a good reason for waking me." Niou yawned loudly.

"You're not awake at this time?" Yagyuu questioned.

"Uh, no. I'm not Mr. Perfect Student like you," Niou said and Yagyuu could imagine him sticking his tongue out in a joking manner.

"Funny Niou," Yagyuu said dryly. "Actually, I just wanted to let you know that I'm feeling quite awful today so I will not be in school or at practice."

"You don't sound well at all," Niou noted. "It's really rare for you to feel sick."

"Tell me about it."

Niou chuckled quietly. "Sorry, but do I hear a Yagyuu that's actually annoyed speaking?"

"..." Yagyuu frowned. He was not a person that was easily swayed by things that happened to him since he had an incredible ability to handle pressure while keeping a level head.

"I'll tell the Vice Captain and take notes in class for you."

"That's assuming you don't fall asleep in class, and since you always do, the chance of me having today's notes are zero percent."

"You sound like Yanagi."

"Do not."

"Ha, okay," Niou said teasingly. "Seriously, get better soon Yagyuu - I'm going to miss seeing you today."

"I will try and I'll miss seeing you too. Have fun at school." Yagyuu replied politely.

"Changes of having fun at school - zero percent. See you Yagyuu."

Yagyuu hung up the phone and pulled his bed covers up to his chin.

'_I hope I don't miss anything important,'_ thought Yagyuu as he grabbed his stereo remote to turn on some soothing classical music. It wasn't long before he started drifting off to sleep again.

* * *

Masaharu Niou, resident trickster of the Rikkaidai tennis club was in disbelief. His doubles partner and best friend Hiroshi Yagyuu had not missed a single day of school since he has known him. He could certainly imagine him tossing and turning in bed out of agony that his perfect record had been shattered.

'_He must really feel awful,'_ Niou thought as he struggled out of bed. After dragging himself to the bathroom, he ended up sitting on the bathtub's edge while brushing his teeth while staring absentmindedly around the room. It wasn't a particularly messy place, but it wasn't neat either - bottles of hair gel and tubes of toothpaste were scattered on the counter, his bath towel and some clothes were on the floor, the wig of Yagyuu's haircut was in the corner from their last switch in a tennis match...

An idea popped into Niou's head right then and he hurried to the sink to rinse out his mouth. He stripped off his clothes quickly and jumped into the shower, savoring the warmth of the water cascading down his skin and the beginnings of a brilliant plan.

'_This is going to be awesome,'_ Niou thought while chuckling to himself. _'It's the least I can do for my best friend.'_

Yagyuu was known as the "Gentleman" both on and off the courts for his polite demeanor and quiet personality, treating everyone with and respect and never revealing more emotion than necessary to avoid bothering people. However, underneath his sophisticated exterior lies a strong determination and will to win in everything he pursues - sometimes that strong sense of tenacity scared Niou a bit during their doubles tennis matches. He would hate to be on the team going against Yagyuu because he knew that Yagyuu was relentless and would show them what a true battle was about.

Niou turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, putting his towel around his waist before grabbing supplies to start his transformation.

Yagyuu's medium brown hair was always combed neatly and was parted the same way every day (Niou had witnessed him using the bottom of his hand to measure from the center to get it right every time). His clothes were freshly ironed every morning and his tie was always tied in a neat knot that allowed it to hang straight for the whole day. It was the perfect image for the brilliant and hard-working student that he was - he was strong at all school subjects and was rivaled in intelligence by only one other: Renji Yanagi.

Niou paused to look in the mirror. He had the wig on and was putting the final touches on his face to accurately resemble Yagyuu. He couldn't help but grin as he saw himself starting to look exactly like his best friend.

'_Ah, but Yagyuu hardly smiles, let alone grin,'_ Niou reminded himself before reverting back to a neutral expression. '_Although he looks quite handsome when he does...wished he did smile more often...'_ Niou shook his head, a bit confused at the most recent thoughts in his head.

Niou, on the other hand, was not quite the ideal student (at least, according to his teachers). He was often late to his first class because he slept through his alarm and he usually fell asleep in his other classes as well. His clothes were often somewhat wrinkled, his shirt would be half-tucked in, and his tie would be hanging loosely from his neck. He passed the time in the day by pulling pranks between classes, much to the dismay of the faculty, and ended up running more punishment laps for tennis practice than the entire team (except for Kirihara). Despite all of that, Niou was a friendly and playful guy that could be depended on when things would get rough. He was also very skilled in tennis and was the only one who was not afraid of against Sanada.

So it was a bit surprising that Yagyuu and Niou were able to impersonate each other perfectly, considering they were polar opposites in every way imaginable. However, after some guidance from Yanagi during practice and after school study sessions, and all of those years of friendship they shared together, Niou and Yagyuu quickly learned each other's habits, mannerisms, and of course, signature tennis moves.

Pausing only in his bedroom to grab his replica of Yagyuu's glasses off of his desk, he sprinted to the kitchen to leave a note saying that he went out for a jog before school because saying that he wanted to go to school early for no reason would have put his mother into shock. Signing his name on the note with a flourish, Niou grabbed his tennis bag by the door and left, grinning once again before returning to a gently stoic facade to get ready for a day as Hiroshi Yagyuu.


	2. Chapter 2 Suspicious Feelings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T for implied adult themes in later chapters. This chapter is more of a K rating.

**Author's Note:** Even though I know my best friends inside and out, I know I would not succeed at impersonating them for a part of the day. So, I envy Niou's and Yagyuu's talent for being able to become each other during the tennis match against the Golden Pair. By the way, that match is one of my absolute favorite matches. I would of hated to be the Golden Pair when the real Yagyuu showed the the real Laser Beam... it was an epic slap in the face!

Anyway, this chapter introduces Yanagi as the third main character. I find him so much fun to write because it requires me to be clever, and cynical at times, in his dialogue. It's also great to try to imagine how his brain works in predicting the actions of his team members and putting together all sorts of data in his head. :)

* * *

By lunchtime, Niou wholeheartedly wished he did not come to school as Yagyuu. Niou desperately wanted to sigh out of frustration, but couldn't because it was not the Yagyuu thing to do, so he settled for slowly stirring his soup. The morning was absolutely brutal, having been called on by all of the teachers to answer questions about the material they were learning and to have to help out some of his classmates with their homework. The only thing that saved him from immediate doom was the fact that he had copied Yagyuu's exact notes the day before.

'_Too bad the only thing I can't copy is intelligence,_' Niou thought to himself dryly. '_But being Yagyuu does have its benefits...'_ Niou smiled a little bit. He was looked up to by almost everyone, the teachers were not trying to find ways of getting him in trouble, and he did not have to suffer from the wrath of the fukubuchou...

"Hey Hiroshi, can I join you?"

Niou looked up from his soup to see Renji Yanagi standing there with a lunch tray in his hands and a book bag hanging off of his left shoulder. He had his eyes partially closed as always and his face showed a soft smile.

"Of course Yanagi-kun," Niou addressed him in a kind voice, indicating to the seat next to him. He watched as Yanagi sat down and set his bag on the ground before picking up a delicious looking sandwich.

"How was class?"

"Fine, had no trouble understanding today's lectures," replied Niou, now working on a salad. "You?"

"Good as well. I'm about 98.7% sure that I got every question right on my math exam." Yanagi replied smoothly.

"What's the 1.3% of doubt for?"

"In case the teacher makes an error in their correcting."

Niou flashed Yanagi an appreciative smile. The "Professor" of the Rikkai tennis club was well known for being a data master, usually talking about anything from tennis matches to school work to the chances of Kirihara running extra laps for being late to practice with a percentage. His somewhat acid sense of humor also included him being able to predict what a person is going to say and finishing their sentences for them.

Regarding tennis, Yanagi is an absolutely brutal player, using his data to completely crush his opponents. He, along with Genichirou Sanada and Seiichi Yukimura, are known as the Three Demons that are the main attacking force behind Rikkai's two consecutive National titles. Niou still hasn't won a single game against Yanagi in their practice matches - a fact which greatly annoyed him, but also fueled him to continue working hard to improve his game.

However, Yanagi didn't really give off a demonic personality outside of tennis tournaments. Speaking in a quiet voice, he was always straight forward with his suggestions to improve his teammates abilities and playing styles. Yukimura, on the other hand, was more bluntly honest with his advice, usually pointing out that their movements were slow or sloppy and that he expected better out of them.

Then there was Sanada, the Vice Captain of the team who was basically considered to be the strictest of them all. He was the one responsible for extra long practices and the occasional slaps across their faces for not living up to his high expectations. Sanada handed out laps, pushups, and swinging drills like receiving presents from every one of your relatives on Christmas Day. Despite it all, everyone respected the Three Demons' immense pride in upholding the team's reign as kings of Jr. High tennis.

"Hiroshi...Hiroshi?" Yanagi asked. "Are you paying attention?"

"...Huh?" Niou said vaguely. "...Sorry, didn't sleep well."

"How unusual." Yanagi commented. "The chance of you having a bad sleep is about 3.4%"

'_Shoot...if there's someone that's going to see through this, it's definitely Yanagi.'_ Niou held his breath as he watched Yanagi scan his face quizzically.

"Oh well, I guess it's bound to happen sometimes," Yanagi said with a small sigh (Niou relaxed his shoulders a little bit). "Anyway, are we still on for studying after practice today?"

Niou choked on his drink.

"Hiroshi?"

"Yeah," Niou spluttered. "Yeah, Of course."

'_Why today of all days?!'_ Niou though agitatedly.

"Perfect, I'm looking forward to it." Yanagi said, glancing at his watch. "I have to head to my next class so I'll see you at practice..."

"Seven minutes and 45 seconds before the actual start time," Niou finished. "Right?"

Renji smiled and Niou couldn't help but notice how much brighter it was towards him than anybody else on the team.

Getting up from his seat, Niou waved goodbye to Yanagi, put his tray away, and started heading towards his next class, preoccupied with how to survive another few hours of having to stay awake in class and answering all of the absurdly hard questions that he knows will be directed towards him. On top of that, he had to figure out how to fool Yanagi during the study session and came to the conclusion that it would be much less painful to have his entire team hit him during practice than to trick the data master.

'_Last class of the day... I can do it...'_ Niou encouraged himself as he forced himself to take notes on the lecture, but he found that he wanted to think of other things... like how many laps he would have to run as himself tomorrow, or where he would hide Bunta's chewing gum next, or if Yagyuu was feeling better...

He furrowed his eyebrows in concern, which was a perfectly normal Yagyuu expression. It still unnerved him quite a bit that Yagyuu was sick and was not able to be at school to spend time with. Niou made a mental note to bring him something nice later at night to cheer him up - maybe homemade food, some nice flowers (Yagyuu was particularly fond of lilies and lilacs), and something really special... like... Renji Yanagi...

'_I did NOT just think that!'_ Niou screamed in his head, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Niou has had this slight suspicion for the last year that Yagyuu might have had feelings for Yanagi just because he seemed to straighten his posture a little bit more when he walked by, smiled a bit more when they talked, and played tennis a bit better whenever he was watching. After having lunch with Yanagi, Niou felt like Yanagi might have those same exact feelings for Yagyuu.

'_I mean, they are the top two students in our grade,'_ Niou reasoned with himself. '_And they're both nice people that offer great advice. They're also the two most tenacious players on the team and are greatly respected by their peers...And I guess they've been study partners for a while now...'_

Niou shook his head. There was no way Yanagi thought of Yagyuu more than a close friend, similar to the way Niou thought of him. He felt pangs of jealously suddenly hit him by surprise as he tried to imagine those two in a relationship.

'_What's this?'_ Niou thought in alarm, not really focused on the lecture anymore. _'Do I...do I have feelings for Yagyuu?!'_ Niou shut his notebook, dismissing the absurd idea and blaming it on having to wake up at 6 a.m. in the morning.

* * *

'_The best thing about Yagyuu,'_ Niou thought as he entered the bathroom stall of the tennis clubroom. _'Is that Yagyuu never changes clothes in front of anyone.'_ Taking advantage of his much desired privacy, Niou ripped off his clothes in a hurry, ecstatic to be done with school and having to wear his clothes so neatly. A sense of relief washed over him as he was able to see his own torso - a piece of his own identity instead of Yagyuu's after such an arduous day. As he was pulling his jersey over his head, he could hear some other people coming into the clubroom.

"Eh?" Niou heard the mildly confused voice of Bunta Marui drift in from the main room. "My gum's not missing today."

"That's odd," remarked Jackal Kuwahara. "But then again, I haven't seen Niou all day."

"Hey Yanagi!" Marui called across the room. "Did you see Niou at lunch?"

"No, today is Wednesday, so he was serving detention for tripping his English teacher yet again," Yanagi replied smoothy.

'_Nothing gets past this guy,'_ Niou thought, rolling his eyes. Stuffing his clothes into his tennis bag, he left the stall and walked out into the main room where Marui, Jackal, and Yanagi were already changed into their tennis attire.

"Ah, Hiroshi," Yanagi greeted and Niou nodded in acknowledgement. "The practice menu looks quite rigorous today, including a five mile run (Bunta groaned), 200 pushups (Bunta covered his ears), 20 sets of racquet swings (Jackal put a hand on a now shaking Bunta), and finally a round of Doubles matches."

Niou had the opposite reaction of Bunta - he was getting more and more excited with each of Yanagi's words. If the real Yagyuu was there, he would be feeling the exact same way.

"...so you and Masaharu have something to look forward to at the end of practice..." Yanagi continued. "Speaking of which, Masaharu hasn't arrived yet and Akaya just walked in the door."

"Oh, I forgot to mention it!" Niou said, a look of pretend alarm. "Niou-kun is at home with a rather high fever."

"What's that? Did I hear that correctly, Yagyuu-senpai?" Kirihara questioned while quickly changing into his tennis clothes and tripping over himself. "Nothing would keep Yagyuu-senpai from practice."

'_The Junior Ace is right,_' Niou thought approvingly. _'So he does appreciate other people after all.'_

"But on a second thought, I always thought that Niou-senpai was a bit of a wimp." Kirihara added with a smirk as he got off of the floor.

Two things crossed his mind right at that moment. 1) He was going to snap Kirihara in half and hang him from the school flag pole for the rude attack on his character. 2) He was going to hold Kirihara in front of the tennis machine turned to the highest setting until he was completely bruised. Both sounded equally as tempting, but he ended up settling reluctantly for the correct Yagyuu reaction: Yagyuu would not show his annoyance to the comment, but he would tell Kirihara in a soft, but deadly voice to respect his upperclassmen. Options 1 and 2 still seemed like the more appealing ideas.

_'How can Yagyuu stand being a gentleman all of the time?!'_ Niou thought exasperatedly. Yagyuu firmly believed in delayed gratification and Niou could not even begin to fathom the idea.

"So you had that on your mind along with a bad night of rest?" Yanagi concluded, referring back to their lunchtime conversation.

"Yes, sorry I was so preoccupied."

"Don't worry about it."

The door to the club room opened and Sanada and Yukimura walked in with impassive faces.

"Everyone get outside!" Sanada yelled suddenly, startling Marui and Kirihara. "Practice starts right now!"

Yukimura put a hand on Sanada's shoulder to stop him.

"Where is Niou?" he asked softly. Yukimura had almost fully recovered from his surgery a few weeks prior, but he was still running on reserve to be in top condition for Nationals.

"Yagyuu-senpai says he is home sick, but I think he's ditching school to meet up with a girl."

"Akaya!" Sanada scolded violently. "An extra mile for being smart." He said as he pushed an angry Kirihara out the door.

"Well, I hope he gets better soon," Yukimura said kindly. "Come on everyone, we have 3+ brutal hours of practice ahead of us."


	3. Chapter 3 Revelation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T for implied adult themes in later chapters. This chapter is more of a K rating.

**Author's Note:** This chapter was nice to write because I got to use the other members of Rikkai :) I wrote it to have them play off of the traits that they are especially known for and I feel like it added hilarity to the story. However, the hardest part was trying to describe exactly what the ending pose of Laser Beam looked like.

Also, this is the chapter where the plot starts to get... interesting. The first two chapters were establishing the setting of the story, but this is where the plot starts to pick up some momentum. Enjoy reading!

* * *

"Everyone, your movement is too sloppy," Yukimura pointed out from the bench he was sitting on. Sanada and Niou were partnered up in a practice match against Yanagi and Kirihara for the last bit of their grueling practice and all four were exhausted. Marui and Jackal had played against Yanagi and Niou earlier in a doubles match (barely losing five games to seven) as well as playing Sanada and Yukimura in one (that resulted in a defeat of one game to six). Now they were resting in the stands just behind Yukimura and were watching the current match with interest. Niou stopped to wipe the sweat off of his forehand and Sanada scowled. Yanagi was unresponsive while Kirihara put his racquet over his shoulder in annoyance.

"Sanada..." Yukimura said quietly, with an undertone of coldness that sent a few chills up Niou's spine.

"Yukimura?"

"You have some nerve scowling like that."

Everyone couldn't help but snicker including Niou himself. Sanada's left eyebrow was twitching in rage.

"20 laps around the courts after practice!"

"Genichirou, let's resume the game." Yanagi suggested cooly, inclining his head towards Kirihara who looked like he was ready to kill.

"Yanagi, you forgot who I have on my team - the most tenacious player that I have ever known," Sanada responded back, pride evident in his voice.

'_Tell Yagyuu the compliment later.'_ Niou told himself, smiling on the inside.

"Yukimura - Buchou," Marui said from the bench behind him. "You intentionally angered Sanada to add more to practice."

"Hmm... tensai teki? Yukimura joked and Jackal laughed.

"He just stole your catchphrase."

"Shut up Jackal."

Back on the court, Niou was getting ready to serve - fire dancing in his eyes. Unlike earlier when Niou struggled to imitate Yagyuu's intelligence and politeness in school, Niou was completely confident in performing Yagyuu's tennis style and determination without fear of revealing his true self.

He tossed the ball high in the air, pulling his racquet back to his left side while his eyes watched the rise and fall of the ball like a hawk eyeing his pray. He whipped his racquet into the ball with lightning quick speed, sending it towards Kirihara, who was waiting to receive it with a hungry look on his face.

Kirihara wasn't called the 'devil of the court' for no reason. Since he was angry about extended practice, his speed and power had dramatically increased and therefore was able to return Niou's serve like it was nothing. Sanada moved in to volley at the net, with a merciless stare directed to Kirihara.

"Chance of Genichirou volleying to my left, 97%," Yanagi stated, doing a split step to start heading toward his prediction.

"Shoot!" Sanada exclaimed, but it was too late. He hit the ball powerfully right to where Yanagi was standing, poised for an attack.

"Kamaitachi," he said, sending back a ridiculously fast and powerful slice - one of his signature moves in addition to his data tennis.

'_And now it's my turn,_' thought Niou evilly as the ball came to him.

Pulling his racquet back to his left side, he waited until the ball was about a foot away before swinging his racquet with unbelievable velocity, unleashing a backhand stroke with immense power towards the other side of the court.

There was a sudden cry and everyones' eyes suddenly widened in surprise at the sight of Kirihara laying on the ground, racquet several feet away from him.

"Laser beam," Niou said, racquet arm pointed straight forward and his other arm held back with a bend in his elbow to point his hand up. A stance that commanded power and authority complete with a icy cold stare at the victim.

On any other day, Niou would have felt a tinge of guilt for knocking a fellow teammate (despite how annoying they could get sometimes) down during practice, but today he couldn't help but feel elated on the inside for teaching someone who was smart mouthing his seniors his place.

"Ow, ow, Yagyuu-senpai!" Kirihara complained as he struggled to get up from the ground. "Did you really have to hit me that hard?!"

Yanagi offered Kirihara a hand and helped him to stand up. Kirihara dusted himself off rather violently.

"Hmm... it seems like we're going to have to work on increasing your reaction time a bit more, Akaya," Yanagi assessed, crossing his arms. "You seem to be having trouble returning some of Genichriou's shots as well as Hiroshi's Laser Beam."

"You just provoked him on purpose," Sanada said gruffly, noticing that Kirihara was back in his scary devil mode.

"We can't afford to lose," Yanagi replied with a smirk before walking calmly away from the Vice Captain. Niou was already back at the baseline, bouncing the ball in thought as he got ready for his next serve.

'_Yanagi is as ruthless as ever. Well...if the Professor and the Devil want a challenge, then I'll certainly give them one.'

* * *

_

Two and a half hours later, eight exhausted players dragged themselves into the clubroom to change out of their clothes and back into their school uniforms. Niou was dissatisfied with the result of the match since Sanada had called an end to practice wit h his usual yell of 'Tarundoru' in the middle of the 50-51 tiebreak because he had business in the dojo to take care of.

'_Geez, just one more point and we would have won,_' whined Niou in his head. However, Niou knew that it was not as easy as it sounded because both sides were playing their hardest and anything could have happened.

"Hiroshi," Yanagi's soft voice called from two lockers over. "Are you ready to come over to my house?"

"Yes I am," Niou said, shutting his locker and slinging his tennis back onto his left shoulder and grabbing his school bag with his right hand.

"Okay, let's go..." Yanagi said as he joined him to walk side by side out of the locker room and out of the school grounds.

Niou honestly was a bit apprehensive of walking alone with Yanagi at first, but luckily the conversation never drifted away from tennis. They enthusiastically discussed the finer points of the match - Yanagi's _Kamaitachi_ that almost hit Sanada in the chest, Sanada's unbelievable smash that put the game into tiebreak, Kirihara's _Phantom Ball_ that Niou over-swung on and fell down...

It wasn't long before they arrived at a medium sized, somewhat modern house with a nice lawn and two cars parked in the driveway. Yanagi took a rather large set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the front door. He gestured for Niou to walk in first and Niou did with a curt nod of his head.

The living room was as welcoming as he remembered it from the few times that he and Yagyuu came over to learn how to impersonate each other impeccably. A rich brown leather couch with a good amount of throw pillows stood in front of an expensive television set, two recliners were in the corner of the room by a colossal bookcase set into the wall, and family portraits lined the wall above the fireplace.

Niou was about to set his stuff down since that was where they had studied together before, but Yanagi stopped him with a quizzical look on his face.

"What are you doing?"

"... Sorry, being absentminded," Niou answer, hoping he did not sound as flustered as he did inside.

"Come on Hiroshi."

Yanagi started upstairs and Niou followed closely behind him. Niou couldn't help but stare a little suspiciously as Yanagi unlocked a door (maybe he was a more cautious person that he had expected himself to be) and walked in, setting his stuff down on the floor.

Niou wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he sure wasn't expecting to end up in Yanagi's immensely tidy bedroom.

Niou was starting to feel pangs of panic now because being alone in a room with Yanagi for however long they normally would study for meant the chances of his actual identity being revealed was very high indeed. He honestly had no knowledge of what Yagyuu and Yanagi talked about when they were by themselves, so he hoped that all they would do is study something that Niou was good at.

He glanced over at Yanagi who had settled himself on top of his bed and was pulling out his English books.

'_No such luck,'_ whined Niou as he climbed on top of the bed to sit next to him, pulling out his own notes and books.

"I'm a bit nervous about the upcoming exam, Hiroshi," Yanagi said as he thumbed to the chapter he wanted.

"Yanagi-kun, you're the brightest person in our class." Niou reminded him kindly.

"I know, right?" Yanagi said with a bright smile. "Still, it never hurts to be prepared for anything."

* * *

Several hours flew by quicker than Niou had thought they were going to - he was afraid that his uneasiness was going to slow time somehow.

"It's getting late, " Niou commented, looking at the watch on his hand.

"Yes it is, but we've made sufficient progress," Yanagi said brightly.

Niou grinned on the inside - he felt he had gotten as much accomplished as he did when he studied with Yagyuu. He started to blindly pick his things from the bed because his eyes were focused on trying to open his book bag. A hand, slightly calloused from holding a tennis racquet, brushed over his and Niou's eyes snapped over to his left in alarm.

"Ah, sorry Yanagi-kun," Niou said apologetically, pulling his hand out quickly.

"No, it was my fault. I was trying to help you pick up," Yanagi responded, slightly blushing.

'_...Wait, Yanagi blushing?!'_' Niou turned away to focus on putting his books into his bag hurriedly. '_No, it can't mean what I think it means..._'

"Hiroshi, I don't think I can hide it anymore..."

'_He's joking, right?_'

"...This time is as good a time as any..." Yanagi mumbled, now a sort of bright red instead of the slightly tan complexion that Niou was used to.

'_Why today of all days?! _'

"Hiroshi," he pulled Niou's hand into his. "I like you."

'_...I'm in deep trouble now..._'

"Even if you don't like me like that, I just feel better now that I've finally told you."

Niou faked a look of moderate surprise even though his heart was currently pounding about a million miles faster than he thought was possible. He knew what he needed to do: Tell Yanagi that he didn't' feel the same and that he wanted to stay close friends even though he knew deep down that Yagyuu probably had feelings for Yanagi as well. That probability wasn't very clear though and Niou didn't want to guess wrong. Plus Niou finally accepted his own true feelings just a mere few hours ago - he wanted to have Yagyuu and made a note to ask him as soon as can before another man tried to snatch him away.

"Hiroshi, are you going to say anything?" Yanagi's warm hand gave his a little squeeze.

'_I'm being selfish,_' Niou thought before standing himself to look into Yanagi's face and saw that his eyes were actually open and brimming with apprehensive hope. They were quite beautiful, shining with warm, inviting Niou into his world that he kept hidden from everyone else.

"Yanagi-kun..." Niou started to say. "I...I feel the same way."

Niou couldn't do it - he could not bring himself to break Yanagi's heart once he looked into those eyes. Niou hated himself for giving in to Yanagi, for giving up his chance to be with Yagyuu, but maybe it was the right choice.

Niou had only ever wanted Yagyuu to be the happiest man in the world, and if that meant that he had to be with somebody else, then so be it. It made Niou feel a bit better to think of this current situation as a favor to his best friend that was too shy to express his feelings, but it did not come near erasing the guilt he felt for experiencing this special moment instead of Yagyuu or preventing the emptiness that was starting to seep into the cracks of his now broken heart.

"Hiroshi," Yanagi placed another hand onto his. "You're not saying this because you don't want to hurt my feelings, right?"

"No, Yanagi-kun," Niou replied softly. "I've been hiding these feelings for a while. You've always been there for me as a close friend, supporting me with great advice. I'm always looking forward to study sessions with you because I get to spend time with you doing something we both enjoy. I think... as time went by, I just fell... For you."

Yanagi smiled, taking Niou's breath away as he did so. A charismatic smile that was the embodiment of his personality and his sudden revelation, Niou couldn't help but be drawn to the honesty of it.

"My feelings exactly."

And he leaned in for a kiss and Niou had no choice but to accept. Closing his eyes, he felt Yanagi's warm and slightly moist lips meet his own, making his heart skip a beat. He felt Yanagi's hands slide down his cheeks and onto his neck tenderly. Niou didn't do anything but kiss back because he wasn't entirely sure what Yagyuu would do in this case and this would certainly be the worst time for Yanagi to figure out his true identity. Luckily, Yanagi pulled away after a minute and looked into Niou's eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't meant to quite do all of that," Yanagi said, slightly ashamed.

"It's okay," Niou answered back soothingly. "I really liked it."

Yanagi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you need me to walk you out?"

"No, i'll be fine." Niou said as he picked up his tennis bag and book bag to leave. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Hiroshi?"

"Yes?" Niou said, pausing in the doorway.

"Would you like to go on a date with me Saturday?"

Niou smiled contently.

"Of course, I would enjoy it very much."

With that, he left the Yanagi residence and started heading towards his own home. Whatever feelings of elatedness he had with Yanagi quickly evaporated as he assessed the dire situation. The only good thing that would happen tomorrow will be that Yagyuu would be grateful to him for not having his perfect attendance record ruined. As for the bad things...

1) Yagyuu will be slightly jealous that Niou studied with Yanagi alone instead of him.

2) Yagyuu will be very angry when he finds out Yanagi decided to confess his love on that day of all days.

3) Yagyuu will be completely infuriated when he realizes that Niou said he loves him back, that he has agreed to go out on a date with him soon, and that Niou received the first kisses of the relationship.

Niou hung his head - he was in deep trouble, and this time, he was not sure if he would ever be forgiven.


	4. Chapter 4 Confrontation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T for implied adult themes in later chapters. This chapter is more of a K rating.

**Author's Note:** I personally enjoy this chapter because the friendship between Niou and Yagyuu is the main focus point. I love it when my friends go out of their way to do something that they know is truly special to me. At the same time, confrontations between those close friends can be rather harsh, but are unavoidable when they need to happen. I feel that those friends that can look past misunderstandings and low points in life end up having some of the strongest bonds that can be created. I try to not assume something about why someone has acted a certain way without first figuring out the facts and attempting to think about where they are coming from and possible causes for the behavior. Open-mindedness is a good thing.

Okay, done rambling. Now onto the chapter!

* * *

The next day, Yagyuu awoke to pleasant rays of sunlight shining through his window and onto his bed. He yawned quietly, stretching out his arms before turning over to read the numbers on his clock.

'_It's only 5:30am_..._ I wonder why I woke up before the alarm..._' thought Yagyuu before pulling a pillow closer to his chest.

Yagyuu felt _much_ better than he did the day before, though a dull ache still lingered in his body. He knew that he would be able to go back to school today without his mother's concern stopping him, and judging by the sunlight coming in through the window, it was going to be a wonderful day indeed.

* * *

Yagyuu opened his school locker and started to pull out his textbooks for his first class, faintly humming some Strauss out of happiness of being back. He took a glance in the mirror to make sure his hair was parted right and that his tie was perfectly straight. However, the sound of the voices nearby in the hall caused him to turn away from his locker instead of heading early to his class.

"Hey Niou!" someone said loudly, greeting him and putting one arm around his shoulders. "Glad to have you back."

'_Didn't Niou-kun go to school yesterday?_' a mildly confused Yagyuu asked himself. '_Maybe he just missed that one class..._'

"Oh, Niou-kun," a girl said lovingly. "Class was so boring and lonely without you."

If Yagyuu was only mildly confused before, he was completely stupefied now. The girl was definitely not in the same class as the first person and Yagyuu had no time to come up with a logical reason to what was going on because Niou had already opened up the locker next to him.

"Hey Yagyuu," Niou said brightly, dropping his bag loudly on the floor. "Feeling better?"

"I should be asking you the same," Yagyuu said, crossing his arms.

Niou tilted his head to the side before realizing what Yagyuu meant.

"Oh, you heard them down the hall."

"You guessed right. Perhaps you should replace Yanagi-kun as the data man of the tennis team."

Niou pulled a set of notes out of his locker and shoved them into Yagyuu's body.

"Here you go. Enjoy." Niou said before clapping him on the back.

"What's - " Yagyuu asked, looking at the top page, reading the first couple of lines. " ...This was material that was covered yesterday!"

"Yes, that's correct."

"In my handwriting."

"That's true too."

Then it dawned on him - pieces of the puzzle coming together from the jumbled mess it was in a second ago. Yagyuu couldn't believe it... that Niou would come to school as him. What he really couldn't believe was that Niou wasn't caught by anybody (not that he doubted his crafty friend, but they had never tried a switch outside of a tennis game).

"You didn't..." Yagyuu started.

"Have to, I know," Niou said with a shrug. "But I know that school is really important to you and I wanted to do something nice for you... Since you're my best friend and all." Niou mumbled the last few words because he was not used to being to honest and upfront about his feelings.

Yagyuu didn't have words to say - he was was too overwhelmed by Niou's act of kindness act to think correctly. His body moved entirely on its own - before he knew it, he had wrapped his arms around Niou and pulled him close in an embrace. He could feel Niou's body temperature quickly rise even through his shirt and could feel Niou's arms holding him around the back in response, his head slightly resting on his shoulder.

Yagyuu wasn't sure why, but he felt just comfortable holding Niou liking that. Maybe because they were both people that hid their true feelings deep inside from everybody and this felt like a much-needed exchange of unspoken appreciation for always supporting each other. Yagyuu did not want to let go, but he knew they were in a public hallway and two men holding each other might draw some unwanted attention.

"Sorry Niou-kun," Yagyuu apologized, blushing slightly. "My body kind of moved on its own." He looked to see Niou was slightly pink in the face as well.

"Hey, it's okay. I don't mind."

"Okay." Yagyuu was relieved. "Are you ready to go to class?"

"Yup, coming."

Yagyuu felt like today was going to be a wonderfully perfect day.

* * *

"Practice was fantastic, Niou-kun," Yagyuu said, putting his tennis clothes in his tennis bag. They were the only two currently in the locker room (Marui and Jackal had already taken off and Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi were still at the courts having a meeting).

"Niou-kun?"

"Hmm?" Niou poked his head around the corner he was packing up his stuff in.

"You didn't say anything."

"Sorry - distracted," Niou said. "I really enjoyed practice as well. Our laser beams are really getting much quicker."

"We'll do so well in the National Tournament." Yagyuu said. "I haven't felt I had a day this good in so long."

"...I'm really happy that you are happy, Yagyuu," Niou replied genuinely.

Yagyuu opened his mouth to answer back, but ended up not saying anything when Yanagi walked into the room and set his stuff down on the bench. Yagyuu felt something stir inside his chest as Yanagi started to remove his shirt slowly, revealing his slightly built chest that was moist with sweat from being outside in the heat. He tried very hard to suppress his urges but he could deny the fact that he throughly enjoyed watching him change clothes.

'_Who am I kidding?'_ Yagyuu asked himself. '_Yanagi-kun and I will never be together... I'm not even sure if he likes guys to start with...'_ To Yagyuu, Yanagi was an enigma that hardly revealed anything despite the fact that they were indeed good friends and had been for a long time.

Yanagi finished changing and turned around to face Yagyuu, face lit with a charmingly bright smile. Yagyuu had noticed that Yanagi had been acting rather unusual during practice - whenever Yagyuu was his partner for drills he would walk with an extra spring in his step, he offered to get the balls that were hit out, and he always gave Yagyuu a pat on the back whenever he hit a spectacular shot.

"Hiroshi," Yanagi said, walking up to him. "How are you?"

"Wonderful," Yagyuu replied. "The best day I've had in a while."

Yanagi's smile brightened even more if that was possible.

"I'm going to assure you that this Saturday is going to be even better."

Yagyuu stared at Yanagi with a really confused expression.

"What are you talking about?"

"This Saturday...don't you remember?" Yanagi asked, his face crestfallen. "We have a date..."

"NIOU!!!" Yagyuu yelled towards the corner Niou was in, hidden behind a row of lockers.

"Masa...Masaharu?"

Yagyuu was beyond enraged - he was _livid_. He charged into the area Niou was in, grabbed him by his shirt collar and slammed him into the wall.

"What the _hell_ did you do yesterday?!"

"Now that's not very nice language."

"Cut the crap!"

"Yagyuu, I can explain!"

"Explain how I'm on a date with Yanagi-kun!"

"Okay, well you see... There was a study session..."

"You went to that?!" Yagyuu hands were shaking out of fury as he slammed Niou into the wall again.

"Ow!" Niou said, feeling pain searing through his back. "I had no choice! If I didn't go, he would have figured out that I was you. I didn't know he was going to confess his love to you."

Yagyuu slackened his grip and dropped him onto the floor.

"Wait... You didn't start this?" Yagyuu asked, surprised.

"No!" Niou exclaimed, rubbing his butt where he landed. "I know you're shy and all about your feelings, but I would never ask him out for you without your permission."

"So you accepted instead?"

"Isn't it the correct choice, Yagyuu?" Niou questioned politely. "...You like him a lot... you always have. I have no doubt about it."

"I..." Yagyuu stammered, turning a bit pink.

"Don't worry, it's not obvious at all." Niou assured him. "I'm just your best friend who knows you that well."

Yagyuu sat down next to Niou against the wall, ashamed at his behavior. He was not used to losing control of his emotions in any situation much less have a violent outburst at someone who was very dear to him. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, chin resting on his knees.

"Sorry."

"It's okay, really."

"Are you hurt?"

"Hardly."

"...Thank you. It... means a lot to me. Everything you've done."

"You're welcome."

"I never thought that this would ever happen...me and Yanagi-kun together."

"Neither did I."

"Niou-kun..."

"Huh?"

"Did..." Yagyuu hesitated.

"Did I what?"

"Did he kiss you?"

Now it was Niou's turn to turn red.

"Uh, yeah."

"...Oh..."

"Sorry I got your first kiss."

"It wasn't your fault."

"...He's a good kisser."

Yagyuu turned to stare coldly at Niou.

"Hey, hey...I'm not interested in guys! I wasn't saying it to offend you. Just to let you know what you're in for."

Yagyuu finally smiled. He couldn't be mad at Niou for very long as much as he tried. Plus it finally sank in that the Yanagi that had been occupying his mind for the last year, causing his heart to speed up whenever they were near each other and making his heart ebb with longing when they were apart, was finally together with him.

"I'm relieved that you aren't mad at me. Really." Niou stated.

"Niou-kun, what would I do without you?"

"Who knows?" Niou said with a nonchalant shrug. "But right now you should find Yanagi and make sure he's okay.. You did kind of just run off on him."

"Oh my gosh - I completely forgot!" Yagyuu said in alarm. He rushed to grab his belongings and was about to run out of the door before Niou grabbed him around the waist from behind.

"Niou-kun...what?" He could feel Niou's hold tighten on him, enveloping him with warmth.

"I'm truly happy for you." With one last strong squeeze, Niou let Yagyuu go with a smile, watching his retreating back disappear out of the doorway.


	5. Chapter 5 Acceptance

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T for implied adult themes in later chapters. K+ since things are starting to heat up a bit now.

**Author's Note:** Finally - a resolution of what has been building up in the last few chapters! The tension is eased and things start heading towards another direction. This chapter is definitely a romantic chapter, but it has elements of drama in it as well. Please review if you have the time - I would love to hear your thoughts.

On a random topic, some of the more critical readers may point out that mahogany trees are not native to Japan. I realize this, but at the time I wrote this, I couldn't think of any other trees that were native to Japan. Other than cherry blossoms, which I will use for the school grounds. I'm keeping the mahogany tree as something unique to the area, which is just like Niou's and Yagyuu's friendship.

* * *

Yagyuu knew exactly where to find Yanagi on a normal day, but this hardly measured up to one of those days. Nonetheless, he sprinted to the school library just to double-check. Sadly, he did not find him in his usual corner, surrounded by the books that would be stacked neatly on the table.

Yagyuu's heart felt heavy - the temporary bliss that he had before evaporated as feelings of worry started to occupy his mind. He wanted, no, he _needed_, to find some comfort in solitude and left for the only place he knew he could find it: a single mahogany tree on the edge of the forest close to where he lived. It was a special place for both Niou and him - a secret place where they often went to enjoy time with each other and to share feelings they kept hidden away from everyone else. Yagyuu always sat at the base of the tree while Niou preferred to be lounging on a low branch to Yagyuu's left.

When Yagyuu arrived, he saw a lone figure in the shadow of the leaves, sitting on the branch that Niou would normally sit on. Yagyuu knew right away that it wasn't Niou - the body was a bit too slender, the shoulders were held a bit higher and were more angler in appearance ... Yanagi noticed a rather large school bag laying at the base of the tree next to a pile of reading books... Then it hit him.

"Hiroshi? Is that you?"

"Yanagi-kun, how did you find out about this place?"

"You forgot who you were dealing with," Yanagi put simply and Yagyuu bowed his head in slight embarrassment. "Don't worry, it will remain a secret from everyone else."

"Thank you." Yagyuu went to set his stuff down next to Yanagi's. "So, uh.."

Yanagi jumped down from his branch, landing much more gracefully than Yagyuu was expecting him to. However, as he straightened up, he noticed that Yanagi's eyes were almost bloodshot from crying, the front of his shirt still moist from his tears.

"Listen Hiroshi," Yanagi started, his voice struggling not to shake. "If...if you don't want this...it's okay with me."

"But Yanagi-kun... will you be okay?" Yagyuu questioned with serious concern.

"Yeah... it's nothing against you of course... Just mad that I got toyed with by Masaharu."

"Yanagi-kun...about that..."

"I don't want to force you into anything you don't want. And I don't want you to feel guilty for all of this."

"..."

"The signs were so obvious!" Yanagi suddenly exclaimed, startling Yagyuu by the unexpected outburst. "If I just paid a little bit more attention, I would have known during the school day that it wasn't you."

"Yanagi-kun."

"I'm such a fool! Confessing my love to the wrong person."

"Yanagi-kun!" Yagyuu yelled, grabbing his arm to get his attention.

"Niou-kun did not toy with you."

"...What?"

"All of it was real."

Yanagi was speechless.

"He could never play such a cruel trick on you or me. He does have morals."

"When you ran off on me earlier... I thought that maybe... maybe you didn't like me, didn't want to be with me..."

"No, I was very furious because I didn't know that this had happened. ... I'm shy about my feelings and I guess I've always wanted to tell you, but I never had the courage..."

"Which means you and I owe a thank you to Masaharu then?"

"I'm very grateful for him in my life."

"I'm glad that he is in yours as well."

"Yanagi-kun..."

Yanagi pulled him close, one arm around the small of his back, the other lightly caressing his cheek.

"I'm happy that he told me your feelings and gave you the push to accept them. Because if he didn't, I would never get a chance to do this..."

And then Yanagi's lips met his. Even though it was gentle, Yagyuu felt like his heart had caught on fire. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment and wishing that it would not end.

Yanagi must have had the exact same thoughts because he continued kissing him - each one a bit deeper and stronger, venturing further and further into unknown territory.

Yagyuu parted his lips slightly in response to the powerful sparks of delight coursing through his body and Yanagi took the opportunity to slip his tongue into his mouth, causing a new wave of pleasure to wash over him.

'_Niou was right, Yanagi is an exceptional kisser,'_ thought Yagyuu contentedly. He could feel Yanagi's buried feelings and desires pouring into his soul with every kiss and every touch.

Yagyuu had never been in a situation where he felt powerless to resist his urges until now. He had always approached things slowly and cautiously knowing that he would be rewarded in due time - that rushing through things was reckless and invited failure. Being with Yanagi right then, embracing each other in the soothing cool of the mahogany tree, Yagyuu willing let his guard down and enjoyed the experience of receiving instant gratification without putting in much work.

He felt Yanagi move down the top of his neck and start softly kissing him in a tender spot just under the right side of his jaw, causing him to let out a small moan, much to his surprise.

"My, my," Yanagi teased. "You enjoy this very much, don't you?" He stroked two fingers sensually in the area he was just kissing earlier.

"Mmm..." Yagyuu had a hard time answering back, his mind clouded with uncontainable passion.

"I can only imagine how your body is going to react if I did more... adventurous things."

"Yanagi-kun..." Yagyuu gasped softly as he felt Yanagi's swift hands quickly undo his tie and expose the rest of his neck to his warm and moist mouth. Yagyuu was in pure, complete bliss - Yanagi seemed to have done some significant research on potential weak spots of his body... or maybe it was simply because he was not used to being touched.

'_Remember, I'm dealing with the data master.'_ Yagyuu reminded himself jokingly. '_He probably did calculations on everything that could probably cause a reaction in me.'_ Yagyuu was intrigued to find out what Yanagi had in mind since he had never put his mind on what would cause him to have certain reactions either.

Yanagi alternated between soft kisses and lightly sucking his neck in a steady pace that further sent Yagyuu into a state of delight. His hands, slightly calloused from the countless hours of tennis practice, massaged the back of his neck, sometimes running through his hair. After a minute or two (or was it five? Time was irrelevant...) Yagyuu gave Yanagi a very deep kiss that caused his eyes to open in surprise.

"As much as I'd like to keep going..."

"If Masaharu came by..."

"He would be furious."

"Most definitely."

Yanagi took one of Yagyuu's hands in his own.

"Will you let me walk you home?" Yanagi asked politely.

Yagyuu blushed slightly and nodded shyly. Yanagi picked off Yagyuu's tie off the ground and put it around his neck, pulling him with it for a quick kiss before deftly tying it back into the neat knot that it was usually in. Both smiling, they left the area, holding hands as the sun slowly sank behind them, streaking the sky with radiant orange and gold.

* * *

The walk to Yagyuu's house was much shorter than Yagyuu wanted it to be. There was such a quiet beauty to being in close proximity to someone who truly cared for you while walking together in the glow of a slowly setting sun. The leaves on the trees along the street rustled faintly when a small breeze would come by, but nothing else disturbed the peaceful stillness of the neighborhood. Every once in a while, Yagyuu would sneak a glance at Yanagi hoping that it would go unnoticed, but every time he tried, he met Yanagi's bright smile and twinkling eyes looking right back at him.

Yagyuu felt Yanagi's hand slip out of his when they were within three houses of his own. Yagyuu found it sweet that Yanagi would respect him and keep the relationship a secret from everyone else without him ever having to ask. A few minutes later, they said goodbye on the doorstep of house and reminded each other what homework they had to finish for the next day. Yanagi kissed him softly on the cheek and wished him a good night before heading out, school bag slung over one shoulder and books tucked under the other arm. Yagyuu could still feel the sensitively of the kiss linger on his cheek long after he went inside the house.

He had a quick dinner on his own - the rest of his family had already eaten and were watching TV in the living room. After that came his usual evening household chores followed by all of his homework. Everything that he did was done to its utmost perfection, which meant that he took his time to work meticulously. It was hard work to be who he was, but he knew it always paid off in the end.

Night had fallen by the time he was done with everything that needed to be done. Feeling a sense of complete accomplishment, he changed into his pajamas while humming quietly to some classical music playing on his stereo. He wished his parents a good night before turning off the lights in his bedroom, shutting the door, and climbing under the covers of his bed. Grabbing the phone off his nightstand, he smiled as he dialed the number of someone that he had been wanting to talk to while he was doing his work earlier.

"Hello?"

"Hi Niou-kun."

"Oh, hey Yagyuu - what's up?" Niou's voice lightened up from the bored monotone he was using when he first answered the phone.

"Just wanted to let you know that everything is fine."

"Good... where did you find him?"

"At our mahogany tree."

Silence.

"Niou-kun?"

"How did he find our secret place?"

Yagyuu ran a hand through his hair in frustration. It was just like Niou to overreact.

"He won't say a word to anyone."

"I know that! But it's _our_ place, not his," Niou fumed hotly.

"He said he figured it out on his own," Yagyuu retorted.

"Stupid calculating data man."

"Is something bothering you?" Yagyuu questioned out of concern.

Another pause.

"Uh no, why would you ask?"

"Well..."

"I'm being difficult, sorry. Just as long as he never sets foot there again..."

"He won't. It will always be our special place and he knows that."

Niou breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's fine then. At least you found him and figured things out."

Yagyuu turned over on his bed and sank into a more comforting spot in the covers.

"I haven't been this happy in a while."

"You deserve every minute of it."

"Everything today was because of you."

"Ah, thanks Yagyuu. That means a lot."

"I wanted to let you know that I am grateful for you, tonight before you went to sleep."

"...Thanks again, really. Now get some sleep and have wonderful dreams."

"Will do. See you at school in the morning." He set the phone back in its charger before turning off the music and closing his eyes. Yagyuu could not deny the satisfaction that he felt for being right about the day when he had woken up in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6 Fire and Ice

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T for implied adult themes in later chapters. It's back to K again for this chapter.

**Author's Note:** The chapter title is one of my favorites because of it's metaphoric value. Two opposite elements where only one can exist at a time in the same place. I was only intending to write only Yagyuu's point of view, but then the last paragraph ended up having words such as 'fire', 'alight', and 'embers', and 'passion', and I thought that it would be perfect to write from Niou's point of view with feelings opposite of Yagyuu's. Since Yagyuu's feelings are impacting Niou (although he denies it), fire against ice makes more sense than fire against water (that would mean Niou would be the one impacting Yagyuu instead). Plus it sounds so much cooler.

Fire and Ice by Robert Frost was one of my favorite poems in my high school English class.

Kagami no naka no ore 2 is a song from Tenimyu: Advancement Match that Hyotei sings and I love that song! I kept thinking of the song when I was writing this chapter because they say the line 'ice and fire' in it xD

Here is the next chapter... With more wonderful romance and plot thickening moments.

* * *

Yagyuu couldn't even comprehend feeling any happier than he was right now, smiling to himself while looking out the window at the brightly lit sky. It was absolutely beautiful outside, cherry blossoms swaying gently in the summer breeze. Today was one of those absolutely rare days where Yagyuu was not paying attention in class (he didn't have to anyway since he already knew the material), but was reminiscing about the last week with being in a relationship.

Their date last Saturday was perfect - Yanagi had taken him out to dinner at a fine French restaurant and forced Yagyuu to let him pay for the rather expensive meal. Yagyuu had put up quite the protest, but had to admit defeat after Yanagi threatened to tell Sanada a lie about Yagyuu forgetting to clean up the courts after practice. Yagyuu really did not want to run extra laps for something he was not guilty of, especially if it meant that Kirihara would be the one that would benefit from the lie.

Afterwards. they had went for a pleasant stroll to the nearby park, moonlight gleaming on the pavement like silver. Having settled on an oak bench in the park, they looked at the sky, glowing with stars in the quaint calm of the night. Yagyuu remembered feeling completely at ease, stroking Yanagi's hand with his fingers fondly. He had lost track of time... no, he didn't care at all about the time. All he cared about was that he didn't want that night to end.

The next day, he had found a single red rose in his school locker with a small note bound to the stem by a satin green ribbon. He could feel small butterflies start to flutter somewhere within his chest as he quickly untied the ribbon, curious to see what the note said.

_Last night, I was sleeping to dream of you. Love, Renji._

Yagyuu remembered smiling contentedly (a rare sight for the public to see), tucking the note in his pocket before grabbing his books to head to his first class.

Unfortunately, they were not able to spend time with each other that evening (or the next two) since they were quite busy with school, tennis, and other commitments. He felt that it was special that their relationship was not public at all because it made every little subtle gesture even that more wonderful. They acted like their normal selves during the school day to avoid drawing unwanted attention - said hi to each other in the halls, had lunch together every other day with Niou, and had excitingly ferocious tennis matches. However, everyday, Yagyuu found a rose in either his school locker or his tennis locker - wonderful reminders of the love that he now had. They were simple messages, but they had this poetic touch about the way they were written that always caused his heart to beat a bit faster than usual.

Thursday evening after practice was Yagyuu's and Yanagi's normal study night. Yagyuu smiled to himself, remembering how unusually impatient he was during the day waiting for the evening to come. He had hid his anticipation well - none of his teammates could tell what was really on his mind while he smashed balls and hit Laser Beams effortlessly during practice. He remembered smirking slightly at the satisfaction of being able to deceive when he had to.

Their study session was at Yanagi's house (although Yagyuu technically wasn't there last week) for the second time in a row because Yagyuu's parents were hosting some of his father's co-workers for a business party. After they had finished their math and Japanese literature homework, they went downstairs to have a delicious meal cooked by Yanagi's mother. Comfortably filled with good cooking, Yagyuu helped wash the dishes before getting ready to head home. A hand grabbed onto his, and Yanagi asked if he wanted to stay a bit longer. Pleasantly surprised, Yagyuu accepted the offer.

He was led into the living room and onto the couch - the smooth brown leather pressing comfortably into his body. He watched as Yanagi went into the corner where the massive bookcase stood and pulled out a couple of books before coming back and sitting down next to him.

That night was something that words could not explain - something teeming with feelings of warmth, acceptance, love... Yanagi read passages out of each book, putting one arm around Yagyuu's back to pull him close. The passages he read were surreal in a sense - beautifully written, striking chords on his heart with each sentence. There was no doubt in Yagyuu's mind that Yanagi had spent a lot of time picking them out, waiting in vain for the day that he would be able to share them with the one he loved.

Yagyuu had slipped slowly and uncontrollably towards a peaceful rest - the combination of the couch's cool leather and Yanagi's warm body relaxing him and his voice while reading was luring him deeper into his stupor. He was so used to Yanagi's crisp, calculating tone or his somewhat sarcastic and cynical voice he used for humor that his gentler, soothing voice was a definite contrast. He had no idea when he did finally drift off, head resting on Yanagi's chest, Yanagi's arms around him, enjoying the gradual rise and fall of his calm breathing.

His heart was alight with fire - What was once just mere flickering embers was now an inferno burning with passion. Every touch, every word, and every gesture from Yanagi evoked new flames to fill his soul.

Yagyuu had a hidden soft spot for romance, dreaming of situations that involved his breath being taken away by unexpected, sweet surprises. The passages that Yanagi had read to him that night, in that rich, soft tone, reflected the type of romance that Yagyuu had been searing for. The size and strength of the fire was indescribable - no amount of water could douse the flames and it could melt all of the ice in the world in a heartbeat.

* * *

That is, all of the ice in the world save one solid, block that was currently residing in Masaharu Niou. HIs heart was frozen, his attitude cold. However, no one noticed because he hid it expertly underneath his normal, laid-back personality. A facade that was so perfect that he knew that even Yagyuu would not see through it. Never mind the many nights that he went through sleepless, restless, and tossing and turning so much that he was surprised that his parents didn't accidentally catch him in the act. He was determined to keep the curtain pulled over everyone's eyes.

However, his own eyes, if anyone cared to look closely enough, reflected his true feelings, icy and desolate - the fire of mischievous and joyous thoughts extinguished. He willingly let the cold seep in and consume his senses, not even leaving one flicker of hope for someone to ease his pain and to kill his loneliness.

Niou wished he had realized his feelings for Yagyuu earlier than he did. It wasn't that he was in denial before, but once Yanagi confessed his love, he felt those feelings surface. Now that Yagyuu was no longer a significant part of his everyday life, he felt very empty inside, like something essential was taken away from him.

They still met at each other's lockers, still had lunch together when he wasn't in detention, and still played as the No. 1 doubles team during practice. The only thing that was different was that Yanagi's presence was always lurking there with them, even if Yanagi was not physically around. The roses in Yagyuu's locker with those precious notes attached to them, the way that Yagyuu talked about him endearingly, the faraway and dreamy look Yagyuu sometimes had during class... Each instance was a ragged shard of glass thrust into Niou's heart and he couldn't help but feel angry about the whole situation.

It took every ounce of strength to bite his tongue and pretend to be happy for Yagyuu when he felt that he was much better suited for him than Yanagi. Niou felt that he, at the very least, had a fuller personality than Yanagi... that he knew how to laugh, relax, and have fun on top of doing well in school and tennis. Sure he knew he had his flaws, but isn't that what makes someone's character have more depth?

It could have been worse for him, but he hardly saw Yagyuu after school anymore outside of their weekly study sessions, which thankfully they still had. Yagyuu's tiny amount of spare time was usually spent with Yanagi now, walking each other to and from school underneath the breathtaking cherry blossoms or watching a movie together in the comfort of either of their houses. Niou tried to take his mind off things by playing video games or surfing the internet during his spare time, but he found that his thinking was clouded and scattered, causing him to fail at accomplishing whatever he was doing at the time...

From his spot behind Yagyuu in the classroom, he watched Yagyuu stare out of the classroom window with an annoyed frown on his face. Only one week had passed since Yagyuu called Niou at night letting him know that his world had fallen into place with an unfathomable amount of content in his kind voice. For someone who has never had any issues controlling his emotions, Niou was upset at himself for getting so worked up for the short amount of time that had elapsed. Despite the fact that he was the one who had to sacrifice it all and had to suffer from the consequences, Niou knew that deep down he would never do anything that would take away his long-time friendship with the one person that he could not live without.


	7. Chapter 7 Broken

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T for implied adult themes.

**Author's Note:** This chapter is intense - both to write and to read. It is definitely a major climatic point of the story that is meant to tug on the heartstrings. All three characters, Yagyuu, Yanagi, and Niou, have always been in my top favorite characters list, but some people think I don't like Niou because he has gotten the bad end of the deal in the story. The story is romance + drama for a reason. Don't you find that when bad things happen to you, it's a struggle at first, but you end up discovering hidden feelings and re-evaluating your beliefs for the better? I do at least. Plus they say that you never know how valuable something was to you until you have lost it. Poor Niou and his internal struggle between his personal wants and his sacrifices for Yagyuu's happiness. *hugs Niou*

Some things I've noticed while re-reading the story for any more minor mistakes...  
1) Yanagi is such a smooth talker. Seriously. He's intelligent and book-smart so I assume he is very capable at putting clever sentences together without having to think about it at all. And he is quite a romantic, but is also a sly devil underneath that is very good at getting what he wants.

2) They seem to study a lot, don't they? Yagyuu is always studying with somebody. It's all good - that's probably why he does so well in school. I love someone who is exceptionally studious and is a perfect gentleman :)

3) I started this chapter with a free verse poem/summary (I am not exactly sure what to call it, haha). It was supposed to be a summary of the whole story, but then it completely exceeded the character limit for the summary on . I found that it fits perfectly here at the beginning of this chapter so that's where it will remain. Once again, please enjoy reading!

* * *

_Two men that prided themselves on keeping their true identities  
hidden under seemingly effortlessly facades.  
Two men that had overwhelming talent in anything that they did  
and immense dedication in anything they pursued.  
Two men that had a long-lasting friendship filled with wonderful memories  
as they grew closer and closer together.  
A third man exemplified what the other two had as well  
and brought forth the courage to reveal the feelings  
that the other two did not realize they had.  
It was too late now for one.  
There could only be two at a time.  
Two men had their world illuminated with warmth.  
Unbroken and complete.  
One man had his world shattered.  
Sharp pieces falling slowly.  
Will they ever fall back together?

* * *

_

The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, streaking the sky with brilliant crimson and gold, and warm light was filtering through the window of the library that Yagyuu was currently studying in. Setting down his pen in the crease of his book, Yagyuu massaged the left side of his face in frustration, letting out a sigh that was almost masked by the fluttering of leaves on the cherry blossom tree just outside the slightly cracked window nearby him. He had been studying for a few hours for the math, Japanese literature, and English exams that his teachers inconveniently assigned to be given at the end of the week.

Yagyuu pondered the thought that if he was less of a perfectionist, he would have been done studying ages ago. He quickly dismissed the idea in annoyance - being a hard worker that always went the extra mile with everything that he did was something he was quite proud of and something as mundane as this was not going to affect him.

A hand touched his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Yagyuu glanced over to his right where Yanagi was still intently studying - eyes darting back and forth across the page he was reading. Yagyuu smiled to himself - Yanagi was definitely a consolation amidst all of his anguish.

"It looks like it's getting late," Yagyuu whispered. "Shouldn't we get going?"

"Hmm..." Yanagi thought, now gently caressing his hand with two of his fingers. "You forgot who you're with."

'_Oh, right. He works in the library,'_ Yagyuu reminded himself. '_He can close it anytime he wants to.'_

"It looks like we have about an hour, 52 minutes, and 4 seconds before we will feel like we have studied enough to pass our exams."

"I'm glad-" Yagyuu began.

"That you're with me," Yanagi finished, with a slightly mischievous smirk on his face. "-was what you were going to say."

Before Yagyuu could respond, Yanagi leaned over and kissed him on the cheek tenderly.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," he said sweetly before turning back to his book, leaving a slightly blushing Yagyuu speechless.

* * *

Night had fallen by the time two exhausted study partners finally finished their work. The moonlight was streaming in through the window onto all of their books that were splayed all over the table.

"Hiroshi," Yanagi said softly. "The moonlight reflecting off of your face gives it a rather soft and beautiful glow."

Yagyuu felt the heat rise into his cheeks and flushed moderately, taking his eyes off of Yanagi.

"Yanagi-kun..." Yagyuu started. "You're..."

"Too kind?" Yanagi finished. "I could never say enough nice things about you."

He ran his hand down Yanagi's left cheek before tracing his jawline with his finger. The other hand was running through the tresses of his hair slowly and tantalizingly.

A small moan escaped Yagyuu unintentionally - Yanagi's touch was still too much for him to handle. His mind was jumbled with thoughts of pleasure and want - all logical reasoning leaving him.

"Hmm... interesting," Yanagi remarked, showing a small, devilish smile that reminded Yagyuu exactly why he was part of the Three Demons.

Before Yagyuu could protest, Yanagi tilted his chin up with one hand and kissed him deeply, pressing his body into his with unbridled passion. Yagyuu eyes flew open in surprise - up until now, Yanagi was gentle with kissing him, always being cautious of making sure that he wasn't making him feel uncomfortable.

This change was certainly different and Yagyuu could not help but succumb to Yanagi's will. After a few minutes of ardently making out, Yanagi stopped kissing him, resting his nose against the side of his face and still grasping him by the front of his shirt.

"Why did you stop?" Yagyuu inquired, panting slightly. Yanagi certainly didn't give him a chance to catch his breath for the last few minutes.

"Just wanted to apologize for forcing you into that," Yanagi murmered. "I didn't know what came over me at that moment. I... I just felt that I needed to show you how much I love you."

"It's okay, really," Yagyuu said reassuringly. "I was caught off-guard, but it is a welcomed change."

"I felt that there was hesitation."

Yagyuu looked down at the ground, refusing to look into Yanagi's eyes.

"I don't think we should be doing this in the library, Yanagi-kun."

"There's no one here but us."

"It just feels... like something is going to happen."

"Hiroshi," Yanagi said, kissing him lightly on the lips. "Would you do this with me anywhere else?"

"Out of the public eye of course. I love you that much."

"Then let me have this moment in a place that I truly love with the person that I truly love."

It was then Yagyuu surrendered.

'_How could I not?'_ thought Yagyuu as Yanagi enveloped him in another warm, moist kiss. Yagyuu parted his lips in response and he felt the kiss deepen immediately with eagerness.

Two hands were working diligently at his shirt buttons, eventually pulling his shirt open and exposing his chest to the cold air of the library. Those very same hands now touched his skin and ran down his chest seductively - fire against ice. He felt his body heat up exponentially with each second that passed by.

Yagyuu was not sure exactly when or how... All he knew was that he ended up on the ground, back pressed against the wall under the window, a blazing hot body against his, and equally as hot hands that slid lower and lower down his abdomen...

* * *

Niou's eyes slowly opened - hazy images taking its time to sharpen in his mind. His pen was in his hand, poised just above his notebook where he was writing notes. He lifted his head up from where he had fallen asleep on his arms and slowly stretched his tense arms out. He groaned, fighting the urge to go back to sleep, but he knew it was very late and that he would need to get home.

Those images finally cleared up - images of his school books strewn haphazardly across the table and a room dimly lit with a bronze glow from the lamps along the wall and a silver glint from the moonlight coming in from the windows. Thick, leather bound books were shelved neatly on the shelves surrounding him in the corner of the room.

'_Damn it, I fell asleep,'_ Niou thought irritably, checking his watch. '_And it's really late now, which means that I am going to have to climb out the window to avoid setting off the security alarms.'_

He started to put away his things slowly, still regaining his senses after an unexpectedly long nap. It wasn't anywhere near the first time he had stayed late in the library so he was in no state of urgency of getting out before he was caught or panicking for a way to escape. However, it was a pain to slip through the narrow gap that the open window created, and an even more arduous trial to safely climb down the outside wall (the library was on the second floor) before finally having to scale the school gate.

He was starting to hear sound again and he could tell they were coming from another corner of the library. Niou froze, holding his book in mid-air with a wide-eyed look of surprise on his face. He wasn't supposed to be hearing anything since the library should have been deserted, but he was positive that was not alone this time.

Niou abandoned what he was doing and started advancing stealthily over to the source of his curiosity. He was glad that Rikkaidai's library was colossal in size and he knew clever hiding spots in case he did not want to be caught. Investigating was probably not what he should have been doing, but he did not want to go home without figuring out what it was first.

He stopped near enough to hear was going on, but immediately regretted it as the dawn of realization him him square in the face. He could distinctly make out Yanagi's voice and Yagyuu's voice - both strikingly evident with passion, want, and pleasure. They were being considerably quiet taking into account how close Niou had to sneak to them, but Niou felt that the volume level had been turned up to an extremely audible level once reality sunk in.

Backing away without looking, Niou wanted to run as quickly as he could back to his spot, but couldn't because the sound of his feet across the marble floor in the center of the room would have given him away. He had to walk carefully, avoiding the spots in the carpeted floor that hid loose boards that would squeak and tread cautiously around bookcases to avoid knocking over chairs.

He made it back sometime later, discernible hurt shown on his face and a few tears trickling down his cheek. His hands were shaking as he tried to clean up the rest of his stuff. The whole ordeal was pure agony - no matter how far way he got, he could still hear them clearly, haunting him with each step. He was agitated that it was Yanagi who made Yagyuu feel that good and upset knowing that he was the one who caused this to happen.

He sat down on the ground in a spot where a bookcase met the wall, shrouded in darkness. His one way of escape happened to be the one window that could open, and that was the one where Yagyuu and Yanagi were under currently. It was a cruel twist of fate, an unappreciated irony that Niou should have seen coming. Niou had no choice but to wait idly as time ticked slowly by. Their voices got louder and louder, heavier with intensity, and Niou desperately wanted to shut them out...

It was over. He could hear their despicably satisfied voices as they packed up and headed out, the door clicking as Yanagi locked it from the outside, and the faint hum of the security alarms being turned on. He felt his heart ache with each of Yagyuu's fading footsteps.

Niou threw a book hard at the wall once he knew it was clear and felt a drop of comfort enter his body as the thunderous sound echoed in the room. He knew he didn't look at them to see exactly what they were doing, but he involuntarily pieced together it in his mind by what he heard while waiting. He knew they did not go all the way (he knew that Yagyuu wanted to wait and Niou was thankful for that), but what was done was enough to unnerve Niou in an extreme way.

He knew it was futile to abandon all thought about the situation, so with that vision replaying in his mind, he made his way to the window to escape. There were no signs that anyone had been there or that anything unusual had been done - only Niou would have a memory of something that should have never been his. Nothing is gained without a price to pay, and in this case, Niou's world was the one that shattered and the pieces were too sharp for him to pick up.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I love you Niou! *hugs again* Everything will be okay, trust me.

*also hugs Yagyuu and Yanagi*

I am leaving a note here too because I want to let you know that 'Chapter 8 - Heavy Rain' may not be coming for a while. I've just finished my first week of college of this semester and I know I am going to be terribly busy. I usually write in my school notebook during lecture classes, but I don't have much time otherwise. I'll do my best, promise! Also, I completely plan on finishing this story as soon as possible. I hate it when I find a good story that has substance, complexity of plot, and metaphoric value and it is never fully finished.

Sorry to leave you all on a major cliffhanger. I will try very hard to make the last few chapters worth waiting for. Thank you to those that have reviewed the story thus far - the reviews mean a lot to me and inspire me to continually strive for a high standard when I write. :)


	8. Chapter 8 Heavy Rain

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T for implied adult themes in some chapters. K+ for this one.

**Author's Note:** School is over (finally!). Sorry for the MASSIVE delay. I had originally thought that that would be my easiest semester at college. Haha, I was definitely wrong. I ended up being crazily busy and my laptop malfunctioned right at the end of it. At least that's all over now and I have time to get back to this.

You might notice a sense of Sanada x Yukimura. Yes, I support them. I'll attribute that to the duet they sing from Tenimyu :)

Also, I tried my best to keep them within their actual personalities as much as possible and I feel that I did. They might borderline OOC a bit, but that's natural for a story like this.

This chapter is much longer than the other ones. Hopefully that makes it worth the wait. Enjoy and review if you get a chance! ^^

* * *

Yagyuu was feeling slightly uneasy as he set his lunch tray down on the table and his book bag on the ground. Stirring his soup slowly, he peered into its watery depths in troubled thought.

"You know, there's only so hard you can stare into your soup before you realize that there's only a few inches to the bottom of the bowl."

"Oh, Yanagi-kun!" Yagyuu said in surprise. "I didn't see you coming."

"Well, your stare was certainly trying to burn a hole through the bowl despite how improbable the notion is," Yanagi said logically. "What's in the soup that has you so mesmerized?"

"Nothing at all." He pushed it aside and picked up a bowl of rice.

Yanagi slid into a seat next to his and put his hand on Yagyuu's arm.

"Something tells me that something isn't settling with you right," Yanagi said with concern in his voice.

"It's not a big deal," Yagyuu said firmly, but he knew that Yanagi would see right through it. There has never been a time Yagyuu could think of where Yanagi accepted something without having to investigate it whether the other person knew it or not.

"Right. You're going to have to work on your persuasion skills a little bit more to convince me." A line like that could be taken two ways: Either Yanagi knew exactly what was going on and was pretending he didn't, or he was bluffing to get him to fall into his trap and reveal the truth. An expert strategist like Yanagi was to never be underestimated because he kept his arsenal of tactics cleverly disguised under his quiet demeanor.

Yagyuu couldn't help but smile a little bit. He knew that Yanagi was trying to make him feel better and he owed it to his boyfriend to tell him what was on his mind.

"Well, Niou-kun wasn't in class this morning," Yagyuu started.

"It happens once in a while."

"He didn't call me in the morning like he always does when he wants to skip."

"Ah, I see."

"I guess I'm a little worried."

Yanagi flashed him a reassuring smile and stroked his arm as discreetly as he could. Yagyuu felt a few sparks of pleasure travel through his body.

"If there was anything wrong, I am sure that you would be the first to know," Yanagi stated confidently. "And we have tennis practice later and I don't think he would dare to miss that."

Yagyuu nodded and returned to eating.

'_Yanagi-kun's logic makes sense,'_ Yagyuu thought as he reached for his drink. '_My best friend wouldn't skip without a good reason.'_

"Hiroshi?"

"What is it, Yanagi-kun?" Yagyuu asked politely.

"Since Masaharu isn't here, do you want to eat with Genichirou and Seiichi?"

"Uh... I don't mind," Yagyuu answered lamely since he was caught off-guard.

"Maybe it will help you focus on something else?"

"Yeah, it's a good idea," Yagyuu concluded, standing up. "I haven't talked with them outside of practice in a long while."

With that, both of them headed over to a table by the window where the two top players of the renowned Rikkai tennis team sat talking quietly. Yagyuu could not help but feel both impressed and envious of the air of refined masculinity that Sanada possessed and the power of deadly superiority that Yukimura emanated. Combined with Yanagi's sophisticated intelligence, Yagyuu could see why those three fit together so perfectly and have lead the team to victory two years in a row.

* * *

"You are all not performing well today," Yukimura said coldly, crossing his arms. A sudden gust of wind came by and the jacket that was resting on his shoulders rustled menacingly in response.

"Sorry, Buchou," came the weary voices of the rest of the team after an extra long practice.

"Run 30 laps around the grounds and then you may excuse yourselves. And if you all don't get your acts together in three days when we have our next practice, there will be some form of harsh punishment in store that you will not enjoy."

Immediately the team took off running, thankful to be away from the furious wrath of the Buchou. Even Sanada and Yanagi had to run (they usually only ran warm-up laps), which meant that the Buchou was not in his usual mood.

Sanada ran past Yagyuu, cursing under his breath about having too much to do later that night. Yagyuu was tired as well, but his mind was occupied with other thoughts.

Niou had not shown up to practice, contrary to Yanagi's prediction earlier. No one had heard from him at all, and both Yukimura and Sanada had given him extra laps for the next practice as well as clean-up duty for the next two weeks. Yagyuu was glad that Yukimura's current mood didn't spontaneously decide to replace him as a regular, but Yukimura vowed to scold him for abandoning his team when they had Nationals coming up. Shaking his head, he tried to focus on something else and saw that Yanagi was only a couple of paces in front of him and he pushed himself to catch up.

"Hey Yanagi-kun!"

"Hiroshi," Yanagi greeted, slowing down to allow Yagyuu to catch up.

"This is surprising. Yukimura-kun was not in a foul mood at all at lunch," Yagyuu commented, reflecting on the rather enjoyable lunch he had with the Three Demons. Yukimura was friendly and engaging and Sanada was surprisingly more enthusiastic when talking than Yagyuu was accustomed to. It may have been because they were not at practice, or simply because the three best friends were comfortable with Yagyuu's presence.

"I think Seiichi was fine at the time, but once he found out we had to cancel practices for the next two days because of incoming rain, he wasn't too happy."

"Because we are so close to Nationals."

"And the chances of the rain missing us is less than 10 percent," Yanagi finished sadly.

"That explains why you are running laps. But..."

"'What about Sanada?' was what you were going to ask," Yanagi said with a wicked grin on his face.

Yagyuu smiled back before quickly returning to his characteristic serious face.

"Apparently, he had to cancel plans with Seiichi this weekend because his family is going to do something together."

"All of this makes me miss Yukimura-kun's typical malicious and mischievous nature of extending practice. I am not a fan of the Buchou taking out his frustrations on us," Yagyuu said with a slight laugh. "And it's good that the team has not picked up that this is abnormal behavior for him."

"At least it doesn't happen often. Changing the subject, your performance today was poor because Masaharu wasn't around."

Yagyuu didn't say anything in response.

"Sorry I was wrong earlier."

Yagyuu looked at him incredulously.

"You're never wrong and you shouldn't have been wrong about this."

"Well, maybe I have finally found my match," Yanagi said, slightly discouraged still.

"Nonsense, Niou is not acting at all like he normally does so this prediction shouldn't even count."

"Hiroshi..." Yanagi began.

"You're welcome," Yagyuu said smoothly. "You were about to say thank you."

"I am glad I have you."

"Me too."

"Call him when you get home."

"I'm planning on it."

They ran the rest of their laps quickly, panting heavily out of exhaustion, sweat pouring down from their foreheads. The laps had gone by without much of a disturbance except for Kirihara tripping, getting angry for falling, and going into Devil Mode and out-lapping everyone. Now he was passed out in the clubroom, snoring loudly.

Jackal and Marui offered to take him home since they lived closer to him, and departed after changing clothes, Kirihara sound asleep in Jackal's arms. Yagyuu quickly changed as well and said goodbye to everybody, heading home in solitude.

That night, Yagyuu tried to call him ten times, but to no avail. Either Niou wasn't around to answer the phone or was sleeping heavily. Yagyuu didn't want to think that Niou was purposely ignoring him, but nonetheless, the shadow of a doubt crossed his mind and stayed there, fogging up his thinking process - not to the point of hindering his ability to work, but enough to irritate him to want to lecture him tomorrow about his behavior.

Niou had never failed to notify Yagyuu of anything he was up to (sometimes because it was a fair warning for his best friend to avoid impending danger) or how he was feeling (since it was always done in return). Yagyuu could not fathom why this time was any different, but the last thought quickly dissipated when his beloved called and they talked for a while - Yanagi's romantic words and charmingly sarcastic humor putting his mind at ease.

* * *

That ease was unfortunately not long-lasting. Yagyuu arrived at school only to find that the locker next to him was devoid of its owner digging through the contents hastily shoved inside. One day was odd enough, but two? Something was definitely wrong.

'_Niou should be thanking the gods that there is no practice today,'_ Yagyuu thought as he looked out the window when it was just starting to rain. He slammed his locker shut out of frustration and headed towards his first class.

All throughout the day, Yagyuu couldn't focus on anything but the absence of his best friend. He didn't realize how quiet his life was without the constant teasing and laughter that Niou provided on a daily basis. He sorely wished that he saw Yanagi more often during the day to talk with, but he was in a different class and was often busy with other duties.

Yanagi came over to Yagyuu's house later that day to spend time with him (tennis practice was cancelled after all). The rain had slowly picked up pace throughout the day and was now showering heavily. The clouds were dark and ominous and Yagyuu was glad he was inside the comfort of his own bedroom, laying next to Yanagi on his bed, instead of being outside in the gloomy weather.

His bedsheets were suddenly pulled over his body and Yanagi pulled him closer to cuddle with him. Yagyuu obliged, kissing him on the lips gently. There was something about Yanagi that erased his worries and fears.

'_If Niou-kun doesn't want to tell me, I don't care anymore,'_ Yagyuu thought in defiance. '_I should be focusing my energy on someone who cares so much about me.'_

He smiled warmly at Yanagi. Yagyuu was almost equally as good as Niou when it came to burying his feelings.

Yanagi took the cue with delight in his eyes and kissed him heartily. Yagyuu found himself in a state of sweet surrender as Yanagi started to remove his shirt, one button at a time. Their relationship usually never involved more than physical contact and kissing, which was perfect for them since they believed a good relationship was based on mental and emotional connection. However, two days ago when the moment was right, they ventured a bit further to show each other exactly how deep their love was.

Sometime later, two men lay still, wordlessly saying '_I love you'_ by gazing into each other's eyes. Their shirts and ties had been discarded by the side of the bed. It was a moderate make-out session that was extremely enjoyable for both of them. His boundaries were clear and Yanagi knew exactly how to respect them. However, that didn't stop him from coming exceedingly close to the line, and that thrill secretly gave Yagyuu quite the adrenaline rush.

A hand was tracing circles slowly on Yagyuu lower abdomen, causing his heart rate to speed up. He tried to remain silent, but his breath was getting more shallow and quick, showing Yanagi that he was getting the reaction that he wanted. It all ended too soon - Yanagi gave him one final kiss before getting up and saying that it was time for him to go. Yagyuu started to put his clothes on with the intention of seeing him out the door. He did not want him to leave.

Yagyuu closed the door slowly after kissing him on the cheek and headed back upstairs to his room. The ease and the bliss of the last several hours were unfortunately only temporary. With a sigh, Yagyuu reached for the phone and tried calling Niou again.

No answer. Yagyuu tried again, but received only the repeated ring tone for the second time. After the tenth time, Yagyuu had to give up to the inevitable and concluded that something was seriously bothering Niou. His sleep, once the day's work had been completed, was interrupted by unstable thoughts. Thoughts that Yagyuu felt made rhyme and reason out of the muddled mess of the last two days. It was all Yagyuu's fault. What he might have done to Niou recently, he had no idea, but it had to have been him because no one else could put a crack in the wall Niou used to hide from everyone else.

* * *

"You've tried calling him."

"Countless of times in the last two days."

"And still no word from him?"

"Not at all."

"Hmm…"

"What is it, Yanagi-kun?"

"Huh? Nothing at all. Just pondering."

The rain was pounding hard against the windowpanes of the library where they were working on some homework. Yagyuu could faintly hear a distant rumbling of thunder and frowned.

"I have only one solution," Yanagi concluded after a quick deliberation.

"About the homework or about Niou-kun?"

"Both actually."

After a long solution to problem #27 spoken by Yanagi at a speed so rapid that Yagyuu doubted he even took a breath once, he addressed the problem of Niou simply with: _Go to his house._ Yagyuu stared at him, slightly confused, the words not quite registering with his brain.

"Go to his house," Yagyuu repeated blankly.

"If he's there, which I am sure he is for the moment, he won't be able to avoid you."

"He could shut the door in my face."

"Nonsense, he would never do that to you no matter what state he is in."

Yanagi paused for a second contemplation before continuing.

"Actually, I think one of his other family members will answer the door, and they would be able to let you know if Niou is in or out of the house."

"I would think inside because of the treacherous downpour occurring outside," Yagyuu added.

"It is going to get worse too. Or at least, until tomorrow."

"Thanks for the idea, Yanagi-kun," Yagyuu said, brushing his hand quickly across the top of Yanagi's.

"You're most certainly welcome," Yanagi said gently. "Oh, and when he comes back tomorrow… Will you allow me to hit him once for all the grief he's been causing you?"

Yagyuu laughed for the first time in a few days. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't anything along the lines of playful humor.

"Sure, but you have to catch him first. He's quick."

"Don't worry. I have a plan," Yanagi said vindictively. Yagyuu didn't even bother to ask - he had a small suspicion that Yanagi would be enlisting the help of his two best friends in this plan, meaning that Niou would have no chance of escape.

* * *

_Knock knock._ The sound of thunderous rain pounding on the rooftop and the ground was strong enough to mask the noise of his knock.

'_At least the wind had greatly decreased in strength,' _Yagyuu thought somewhat dry. Earlier in the day, it was ferocious enough to cause him to lose his balance on his way to the clubhouse, but luckily, Yanagi caught him before he met the ground.

He raised his hand to knock again, but the door swung open and he was immersed in bright light before he made contact with the door.

"Hiroshi-kun?" It was Niou's mother that had gotten the door.

"Hello," Yagyuu replied warmly. "I was wondering if Niou-kun is home."

"Sorry, he's not," his mother replied, frowning slightly. "He went out a while ago without saying where he was going."

Yagyuu thanked her for answering the door and left feeling frustrated and discouraged. The rain certainly wasn't helping his mood, which only irritated him more because he usually liked the soothing sounds of rain falling, the beautiful glistening of water droplets on tree leaves, or the cool, refreshing effect of rain against his skin.

The umbrella he had clutched in his hand sheltered his neat clothes and well-groomed hair from getting ruined, but part of him wished to throw the umbrella away and go home soaking wet in misery. However, Yagyuu restrained himself from doing something rash on impulse - purposely giving in and having the rain wash away his doubts, worries, and resentments was something that he would not allow himself to live with. He was in a heated competition against himself and he refused to lose.

He had no idea where Niou had gone. He, himself, had no place in particular where he had to be and nothing to finish for the next day. So he wandered aimlessly as the rain continued to fall even heavier, wondering if the rain was purposely mirroring how he was feeling inside.

* * *

His clothes were thoroughly soaked, but he didn't care. He found that he didn't care much about anything these days. He shook his head violently, sending water flying in every direction, but there was hardly any improvement for Niou (much to his displeasure). It was certainly heavy rain.

Niou shivered slightly despite the fact that it was still a warm, summer's night. He really didn't want to go home just yet - he had held in most of his feelings for the last two days, but he had to let them out on the third because he couldn't contain them anymore. The tears wouldn't stop no matter how hard he tried, so he stopped trying and worked on finding comfort in solitude.

"Niou-kun?" a soft voice called out.

'_So much for that solitude,'_ thought Niou as he squinted his eyes to make out a shadowy figure with an umbrella slowly approaching him. Niou sighed - he knew that life would continue to screw him over and send him the one person that he did not want to see.

"Niou-kun."

A simple statement in his uniquely courteous voice. A voice that could break down the walls that Niou had surrounded himself with in a single blow. There was a reason Niou was out in the rain - he did not want Yagyuu to see the tears that he couldn't hold back.

There he was - clothes still neatly pressed and dry, sheltered by his umbrella. Not a thing was out of place, which was something Niou had always admired in his refined best friend. Except for right now when he was in such an unstable state - part of him just wanted to snatch his umbrella away and let his perfect appearance be ruined.

"So this is where you went off to."

"Yeah, just needed to get away from the house for a bit."

Niou could see the prominent frown cross his face and he heaved a sigh.

"How long have you been out?"

Niou shrugged nonchalantly.

"Two hours maybe."

"Niou-kun," Yagyuu scolded disapprovingly. "Let's go before you catch a cold."

"I won't."

"I figured you would say that."

Yagyuu threw his umbrella on the ground rather violently. He strode up to Niou with fiercely determined eyes and glared at him. Niou could have sworn he saw flames dancing in those eyes that showed no mercy.

"You owe me an explanation of the last three days," Yagyuu said sternly. Light flashed dangerously on the lenses of his glasses and Niou doubted it was another figment of his imagination.

"I felt awful on Monday so my mother let me stay home…"

"You didn't answer any of my phone calls."

"Yagyuu, you know that when I'm sleeping heavily, I don't hear anything."

'_There is some truth in that,'_ Niou reasoned with himself. He did have a talent for sleeping through any amount of noise. However, this time, he was wide awake and refused to answer the phone because he was afraid he was going to say something he would regret. Not answering his best friend tested Niou's strength in ways that he had never imagined and never wanted to go through again.

Niou knew that this conversation was only the beginning of fabricated lies that may result in his demise. He hated having to deceive the one person that was the closest to him, but there was no other choice. Yagyuu couldn't know he was there that night and Niou would rather take the path of ruin and anguish than have Yagyuu venture there.

"So you didn't call me back the next day."

"I was still feeling unwell, and by the time I felt better, I had to do all of my homework."

Another believable lie. Niou hadn't touched any of his homework, but spent his day distracting himself with computer games.

"Why are you out here if you're getting over being sick?"

"I like the rain as much as you do. It… is making me feel at ease."

'_Okay, so I told one truth,'_ thought Niou. He felt relieved that Yagyuu would not be able to distinguish his tears from the rain.

"I don't believe you." Yagyuu said firmly, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

"What do you mean?" Niou asked, sounding unfazed. "I actually do like the rain…"

"Not that!"

"So…"

Niou knew that he shouldn't agitate Yagyuu any further, but he couldn't contain himself from pouring more fuel on the fire. Part of him wanted Yagyuu to hurt as much as he did, and the other part of him, wanted to slap himself hard for even thinking about it.

Yagyuu came within an uncomfortably close vicinity and drew his face up to his. His eyes were sharpened in a fierce, demanding glare and it was almost as if he had complete control of Niou from that point on.

"I think something is wrong." Yagyuu said simply and unexpectedly.

"No, nothing at all…" Another lie. How many more would the night bring? Niou was an expert trickster (he considered himself to be the best one in the school), but he couldn't trick his heart. The knife in his heart was being pushed further in with each minute that passed by.

"You miss school for three days without saying a word to anyone…" Yagyuu pressed on like he didn't hear him. "You don't seem at all worried about the wrath of the Three Demons for missing practice. Now you are sitting in a tree getting soaked to the bone and you claim that _nothing_ is bothering you."

Niou knew his game was up. There was absolutely no way he could successfully deceive Yagyuu - he was too intelligent and could logically piece anything together with hardly any visible effort. Niou knew he had only two choices: One was to tell him that he had stumbled across Yanagi and him having a rather steamy experience in the library. The other was to start a new game with him - one that potentially contained more pitfalls than the last.

"It's really nothing you should be terribly concerned about," Niou answered, weighing his words carefully in his mind. It was like playing chess against an extremely crafty opponent - one wrong move and he would be in a tight spot before his defeat in checkmate.

"Niou-kun, what could be so important that you have to keep secrets from me?" His face was close, his cheeks slightly flushed out of anger, rain droplets glistening in his hair… Niou ached to lean forward and kiss him because he wanted all of his hurt to evaporate and be replaced by something wonderful and enjoyable.

"Niou-kun?" Yagyuu questioned hesitantly, slightly perturbed by the sudden silence and how Niou's eyes bore into his.

"It's…" Niou said, glancing away. "…selfish."

"I don't care, I want to know."

Another choice - another fork in the road. Niou could tell him that he wanted him to break up with Yanagi and get together with him. However, the probably that that was going to go over well was quite slim indeed.

"Well…" Niou wracked through his brain trying to fabricate yet another lie. "…I've just missed seeing you, that's all." Niou said awkwardly. "I mean… best friends and all. And I know he's your boyfriend and I am happy for you, but…" Niou's thoughts rushed out in a jumble of incoherent speech and he hated himself for sounding uncharacteristically weak. "I just want you back…"

"You missed me?"

"Yeah, you know. We used to hang out a lot and just be us."

"I still see you about the same amount as before… minus some weekends." Yagyuu stated kindly. Then a realization hit him.

"Do you mean that I don't dedicate as much time or thought to you anymore because Yanagi is always on my mind?"

A stroke of luck for Niou had occurred because of Yagyuu's misinterpretation of his statement earlier when he said that he wanted him back. Niou knew full well what he meant by 'wanting him back', but Yagyuu came to the conclusion that he was neglecting his best friend by thinking constantly about another boy in his life and that Niou missed the old Yagyuu.

'_I dodged a bullet on that one,'_ Niou thought to himself as he quickly assessed what to do next in the situation.

"Niou-kun, why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"Huh? What?" Niou asked in surprise.

'_That was not what I was expecting to hear',_ thought Niou in utmost disbelief. He was expecting some denial about how he would never let his relationship interfere with his friends' life or that it was all in Niou's head because he was jealous that Yagyuu had a boyfriend and he didn't have someone (for all Yagyuu knew, Niou was straight). Not that he thought Yagyuu, the perfect Gentleman, would do that, but normal people get defensive about their significant other and shut down outside opinions about them.

"I'm sorry," Yagyuu said, his gaze losing intensity as he looked away with downcast eyes. "I didn't know that I was being that person who was so obsessed with their boyfriend that I was pushing others away. I can't believe I was so ignorant of your feelings."

"No, no, it's okay," Niou quickly said. "You weren't doing it on purpose."

"I still feel horrible about it."

"Don't look down on yourself," Niou said pointedly. "Everyone who is in their first relationship does that to their friends."

"But I…"

"You're being too hard on yourself. I think your perfect." Niou gasped at what he had just said, but hoped that Yagyuu didn't catch that over the thunderous rainfall.

Silence. Yagyuu looked slightly taken aback and at a lost for words. Niou wanted to smack himself on the face for his potentially disastrous slip-up.

"Perfect?" Yagyuu asked softly.

"Well, you know," Niou stammered, heat rising into his cheeks. Niou knew what made Yagyuu perfect to him - the way his soft, light brown hair framed his beautiful gray eyes… the way his kind smile lights up the entire room… the way his determination knew no bounds… Even the rain that had now thoroughly soaked into Yagyuu's clothes made him look nothing less than his usual perfect self.

"…You have a wonderful personality," Niou said truthfully. It was probably wise not to say anything about his physical appearance.

"It's rather… boring," Yagyuu stated. "Isn't it?"

Niou reached out to touch him lightly on the shoulder.

"You shouldn't joke like that."

Yagyuu's shoulders drooped miserably and he tried to push Niou's hand away. Niou grasped his shoulder firmly, partly out of annoyance.

"I don't know where that just came from," Niou said a bit vehemently. "But I know you are a humble person. Accept the fact that you are pretty much perfect and that it's not a bad thing since you don't brag about it. You excel at school, you are truly nice, and you are genuinely talented… Just… just this once, let your guard down… for me."

Niou could tell that the cogs in Yagyuu's head were turning and turning over the idea. He didn't know what was going to happen next - he just had to wait excruciatingly patiently as the rain was just starting to slow.

"… Thank you," Yagyuu said, voice barely audible - a whisper so light that Niou barely caught it before it was gone.

"No problem." He loosened his hold on Yagyuu and flexed his fingers. The soreness he was feeling was an indication of how hard he had been holding him.

"And if it's any consolation, if you weren't the way you are, I highly doubt Yanagi would have ever fallen in love with you," Niou added logically even though he wanted to say it grudgingly. He hoped that what he said would divert any further unwanted attention regarding his feelings and put a close on a game that Niou had initially thought he was not going to win.

Yagyuu finally smiled and it broke through the darkness like a brilliant light. Niou felt warmed by his presence - a comforting feeling against his rain-soaked clothes.

"Glad to see you are feeling better," Niou said, leaping down from the tree and running over to grab the discarded umbrella on the ground.

"I should say the some to you," Yagyuu added and watched as Niou approach him.

"Thanks. I am. You ready to head home?"

"Of course."

And then they departed, both walking together under the umbrella as the rain started to slow to a gentle shower. The dark clouds had drifted off, revealing the glow of the stars and the sliver of the crescent moon. Niou felt quite a bit elated to have some of the weight taken off of his chest and also because he was able to keep himself from revealing his true feelings. Part of him was tinged with guilt because of how he had to trick Yagyuu, but he argued with himself that it was all for the best.

They arrived at Niou's house first since it was closer - lights from the windows flooding onto the driveway. Niou strode up to the door with his keys in hand, but the door opened before he could put the key in the door.

"Hello Mother," Niou said sweetly, but she was not falling for it.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Actually no."

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Not punish me hopefully."

"I'm so glad Yagyuu-kun stopped by looking for you. Sometimes I wonder if you would have gone down the wrong road if you had never met him."

"Uh, thanks Mother."

She stopped talking abruptly as she noticed Yagyuu standing several feet behind him.

"You are soaking wet!" She said, grabbing Yagyuu's arm and dragging him into the warmth.

"No, it's okay," Yagyuu said hastily. "I'll change when I get home. It's not much further…"

"Nonsense. I don't want you to catch a cold," she said in a motherly tone as she pushed him upstairs towards Niou's bedroom. "You can change out of your clothes and I will put them in the dryer."

Yagyuu accepted the suggestion wordlessly and found himself in Niou's room a few minutes later. His room fit Niou's personality perfectly - organized semi-chaos. He had a lot of things, but mostly everything was in its own place. Yagyuu knew that Niou could find anything that he wanted in a blink of an eye, but Yagyuu would have to shift through a few things first before he would find it.

"She just _loves _you," Niou stated as he went over to his closet. "Sometimes I wonder if she would rather have you as a son."

"She loves you too," Yagyuu assured him. "I'm sure she would have thrown you out on the street if she didn't."

"She didn't care that I was soaking wet… but then again, she is mad at me." Niou said with a laugh. "Oh well..."

Niou offered him some of his clothes - a casual green button-down shirt, jeans that looked like they were worn quite often, and a pair of boxers still in its original packaging. As Niou was handing him the most 'gentlemanly' clothes that he had at the time, the thought of Yagyuu wearing his clothes was a bit stimulating Indeed, he could barely contain his thoughts of excitement when Yagyuu emerged from the bathroom, blushing slightly.

"You know, you don't look half bad in them," Niou said nonchalantly while looking him up and down slowly. "In fact, you could probably wear clothes like these more often."

"Don't talk nonsense," Yagyuu said, sitting down on the bed and straightening his collar. "They feel a little too… loose on me."

Niou rolled his eyes and plopped down on the bed next to him, having already changed clothes in Yagyuu's absence.

Several minutes of silence passed between them. Yagyuu was cleaning his glasses off with the shirt he was currently borrowing and Niou was preoccupied with finding a comfortable spot amongst his pillows. They both were distracted with their own needs and that was completely fine with Niou. He needed some time to let his brain relieve its stress.

"Hey Niou-kun," Yagyuu said softly, staring at the glasses in his hand.

"Hmm?" Niou answered back, voice muffled by a pillow he had his face buried in.

"Do you want to do something this tomorrow?" Yagyuu asked slowly while fidgeting with the glasses.

"That was… unexpected," Niou answered back as he raised his face out of the pillow, surprise evident in his voice. The expression on Yagyuu's face masked his true intentions with ambiguity, which was normal for him. Niou was accustomed to this - he was the same way to Yagyuu and so he had accepted this aspect easily.

"Well, think of it as me making up for the time that I have been neglecting you and your feelings."

Niou felt happy. Scratch that - he felt euphoric.

"Is there a catch?"

"Always quick to assume for the worst, aren't you?"

"You can't always be too careful."

Yagyuu turned his upper body around to look at Niou.

"We can do anything you want tomorrow."

"Now there has to be a catch."

"Absolutely anything." Yagyuu's face never looked more serious as Niou checked to see any trace of dishonesty or hesitation. He found nothing.

"Well, I gladly accept." Niou said with a smile, laying back into his pillows.

"It's going to be a fun day," Yagyuu said, smiling softly back.

The door to Niou's bedroom opened abruptly and Niou's mother bustled in with Yagyuu's freshly dried clothes. Yagyuu thanked her politely and she smiled brightly before excusing herself.

"Time to leave, eh, Yagyuu?"

"It is. I'll see you tomorrow around noon?"

Niou nodded and sat up, but Yagyuu held up his hand to stop him.

"I can see myself out. You should get some much needed rest."

Niou waved as he fell back against his pillows, feeling quite content with the world. A day with Yagyuu all to himself sounded so wonderful, but so surreal that Niou had trouble believing that it was actually going to happen. He sighed happily as he rolled over in bed and warned himself to not do anything suspicious that day.

'_It's a dangerous game,'_ Niou thought to himself as he drifted off blissfully. '_But lucky for me, I happen to be the best at those.'_


	9. Chapter 9 A Dangerous Game

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T for implied adult themes. This chapter is that narrow line between K+ and T.

**Author's Note: **The Platinum Pair spend time with each other for the first time in the story where there is no drama occurring. I'm happy for them :)

Niou has some... special thoughts during this chapter xD What else can you expect from someone who has fallen so quickly in love with his best friend? Plus he is a teenage boy...

I also wanted to thank those who have reviewed the story so far - Azali Syria, PWNsomeness, Different Child, CherriAme, and ryvlyn. Thank you for supporting me as I write this fanfic! Your comments always make me smile and motivate me to keep writing well.

Without further delay, I hope you enjoy reading this next chapter and please review if you get a chance ^^

* * *

Saturday came with absolutely stunning weather. It was a bit warmer than usual for this time in the season, but there was a cool, gentle breeze that made it amazingly comfortable. There were some birds chirping merrily in the distance that Niou could hear from where he was sitting on the front steps of his house. He was leaned back onto his elbows and his legs were splayed out in front of him - one further than the other in a casual display.

Yagyuu arrived promptly on time with his characteristically emotionless face and looking perfect as always. Niou wondered if Yagyuu was harboring some feelings of anxiety about the day and was hiding it behind his passive face, but he saw that he formed a smile smile as he approached.

"Niou-kun," Yagyuu greeted softly. "You look good."

Niou was wearing a pale jade green button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows and it was open to show the white t-shirt he had underneath. He also had on a dark blue pair of jeans that sat just below his waistline and had holes artfully put into them by Niou himself.

"They are a new pair of jeans," Niou remarked. "With some new additions to suit my style. Anyway, it looks like you're wearing new clothes too."

Yagyuu had on a freshly ironed light blue button shirt that was neatly tucked into a pair of medium-dark khaki pants. The whole outfit made Niou's heart flutter - he was always impressed with how natural he looked in formal clothes.

'_Heck, even his casual clothes have an air of sophistication,'_ thought Niou in admiration.

"How about we adjust ourselves a little bit so we don't look completely mismatched?" Niou suggested brightly, standing up and reaching out to unbutton the top two buttons of Yagyuu's shirt, exposing his somewhat pale flesh.

Yagyuu opened his mouth to protest, but Niou shook his head as he buttoned up a few of his own shirt's lower buttons and tucked in half of his shirt into his pants.

"Remember the deal - _my terms._"

Yagyuu nodded and accepted his fate as they walked together in the direction of the arcade. Niou felt a slight tingling sensation in the fingers that accidentally brushed across Yagyuu's neck when he was unbuttoning his shirt. Part of him knew that he wanted to keep on going…

* * *

They had spent about two hours at the arcade and played almost every game that was there. Niou won pretty much all of them since he was much more of a natural gamer than Yagyuu, but there were a couple of moments that caught him off-guard. Yagyuu completely destroyed him in go-cart racing (one time managing to cause him to hit one of the barriers and spin out of control) and Niou could tell that Yagyuu was feeling quite proud of himself for doing so. Niou later got him in Laser Tag just as harshly by scoring three times his score and he was sure that Yagyuu's newfound pride shattered at that moment.

Niou was now cashing out all of the tickets that he had won at the counter, grinning to himself because he was able to even the score in laser tag. Shooting games were his specialty after all. He ended up getting them each a massive water gun saying that they would be useful for a prank or a hot day in the near future.

Next, they found themselves at one of Yagyuu's favorite cafes for lunch - intentionally planned by Niou, the fact being unknown to Yagyuu. He watched as Yagyuu sank his teeth into a sandwich and started eating it rather heartily.

'_Apparently, he built up quite an appetite this morning,'_ Niou thought bemusedly to himself. He dug into his own sandwich ravenously, pausing once in a while to savor the tasteful flavor.

Once they were finished eating, Niou caught the waiter and ordered them each a delicious-looking ice cream sundae topped with fudge, fresh strawberries, peanuts, and whipped cream. He was also able to stop Yagyuu's protest of paying for his own with the "Whatever I want to do" card. Niou's philosophy included something about using what he had to the fullest, without abusing it of course, because he never knew when it would be gone next.

The art museum was hosting a few new exhibits, one of which had a few of Yukimura's pieces in it, so they headed there after lunch. Niou didn't think he was superstitious, but he felt that there was a necessary need to pay tribute to the Demigod. Maybe there was a chance that his punishment would be lessened during the coming week.

He also knew that Yagyuu loved admiring all of the paintings and sculptures and taking in all of the fine, intricate details, which Niou usually never bothered with. He found himself surprised at the fact that he kind of liked doing this once he tried.

'_Well, that's something new,'_ thought Niou as he stared deep into one of the paintings, trying to refrain himself from sneaking too many glances at Yagyuu. He knew he could stare at Yagyuu all day figuring out all of the little things that made him such a masterpiece if something in his mind wasn't flashing the danger sign at him.

As they were heading out, Niou caught him by the arm and felt a jolt of electricity zoom through his arm.

"What is it, Niou-kun?"

"You are having fun, right?" Niou asked for verification.

"Of course I am," Yagyuu answered. "Really."

"Sometimes I can't tell with that straightforward face of yours," Niou noted, breathing an inward sigh of relief.

"I suppose that's true."

"Well, anyway, I have tickets to see the orchestra perform. I know you like classical music and all."

He revealed the tickets he was hiding behind his back and handed one to Yagyuu. He saw the color rising in Yagyuu's face and he knew he couldn't control it. It was honestly rather adorable to him to witness.

"You didn't have to…" Yagyuu began.

"I know, but it's for you… for everything," Niou said, putting his hands into his pockets and looking at the ceiling.

"And how did you come across these in such a short amount of time?" Yagyuu asked pointedly.

"Never mind you about such petty little details."

"Niou-kun!"

"Relax. I didn't steal them or anything," said Niou, casually leaning against the wall, hands still in his pockets, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. The truth was that he simply got up extra early in the morning to go buy them, but he didn't need Yagyuu to know that he was capable of getting up that early or else he would have no excuse for being late to things. It was certainly a painful struggle to get out of bed that early and he had to tell himself repeatedly that it was all for Yagyuu as a motivational strategy.

"We should get some dinner before the concert then," came the intelligent deduction from Yagyuu as he tucked his ticket in his wallet.

"Okay, sounds good," Niou concurred, straightening up and going to stand next to Yagyuu.

Unexpectedly, Yagyuu hugged him briefly for the second time in their friendship. He did notice that Yagyuu blanked out for a second and asked him what was wrong, but Yagyuu assured him it was nothing. As they walked out perfectly in stride with one another, Niou felt like he was walking on cloud nine.

They went to dinner at a nice restaurant nearby and Niou found that the food was absolutely delicious. He looked across the table to admire how '"in place" Yagyuu looked with his refined mannerisms and polite demeanor. Niou would have to take him here again since they had to eat a little more quickly than normal to make it to the concert on time.

Catching the bus, they arrived ten minutes prior to the start of the concert which felt early enough to Niou, but he was sure Yagyuu thought it was cutting it close to the line. After they made their way through the crowded hall, they found their seats and settled down. Niou had to fight back the urge to sit back lazily like he tended to do - it would have contrasted unpleasantly with Yagyuu who retained a respectable upright posture. At least he still left those two top buttons undone, which gave Niou a sense of satisfaction.

As the soothing melodies of the piano concerto washed over him, Niou had time to reflect on the day and how much he enjoyed himself. The last time they spent the whole day together was when Yagyuu helped with setting up things to terrorize the school on April Fool's Day. He throughly enjoyed Yagyuu's inner malicious streak when it appeared, but it made him a fighting source to be reckoned with if you were the victim.

He looked at Yagyuu through his peripheral vision and noticed how taken in with the music he was. If music was some kind of liquid substance, then Yagyuu was definitely fully submerged with an unlimited air supply. If being in love constituted as a liquid substance, then Niou was drowning in it and the rescue boat sailed off without him.

The concert finished to tumultuous applause and a standing ovation. Niou could definitely do more things like this if it meant being with a wonderfully content Yagyuu. His presence was irresistibly rapturing at a place like this.

"Niou-kun," Yagyuu said. "Did you… set this up?"

"What?" Niou asked quizzically.

"You know, this concert…" Yagyuu finished lamely.

"I thought you liked classical music."

"I do… I meant… Actually, I don't know what I meant."

"I really thought it would be nice since you dealt with me all morning at an arcade. Call it irony that the music selection was what it was."

Yagyuu nodded with a sweet smile, accepting the answer as they left to go to Yagyuu's house for the next hour or two. Niou hadn't thought about coming at all (he originally thought he was going to head out after the concert since it was a long day), but Yagyuu thought it would be nice to grab some drinks and relax a little bit. There was no way that Niou would have rejected the offer, which brought them to where they were currently - walking down the street in close proximity of each other towards the bus stop. Niou wouldn't have had it any other way.

* * *

"Phew, I am tired," Niou said as he collapsed unceremoniously into a chair in Yagyuu's well-kept room.

"Well, we have been doing something almost all day," Yagyuu said reasonably as he opened his closet door. Yagyuu looked so inviting - his whole backside in Niou's line of vision was a strong temptation. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"Can I give you a massage?" Niou asked.

'_Great stupid,'_ thought Niou. '_How the heck am I going to recover from something like that?'_

"Are you okay?" Yagyuu said with concern.

"Of course I am," Niou answered back, trying to sound like he was in control. "Why do you ask?"

"Because it's out-of-the-blue, even for your normal standards."

'_I really need to get friends that aren't so damn perceptive,'_ Niou told himself.

"Come on Yagyuu, it will feel good!"

"Have you been practicing your skills or something?"

"Sometimes you really need to relax and be more trusting of me. Have I ever led you astray?"

"Not yet, but I fear that day will come when I am least expecting it."

Niou mustered up the most endearing face that he could and caught Yagyuu's eyes. He usually used this face with girls at school that he wanted to do something for him and it worked like a charm every time. This was the first time he tried it on a guy.

"Niou-kun, stop that," Yagyuu said, looking away. "I am not one of those fangirls of yours."

"But but but," Niou pleaded teasingly, climbing out of his chair towards Yagyuu who was backing up towards the bed. "How could you say no to this handsome face?"

Yagyuu didn't reply as he lost his balance trying to look away and fell onto the bed.

'_What the heck am I doing?'_ Niou thought to himself. '_I'm being ridiculous and it's probably scaring him. But once again, I'm successful in distracting him from asking any questions about my true feelings.'_

"Okay, you win Niou-kun," Yagyuu said, conceding defeat. "Why not, right?" He watched as Niou climbed onto the bed to join him.

"That's the spirit!" Niou exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Taking a risk is healthy. Now turn around."

"Who gave you permission to order me around?" Nonetheless, he obliged.

"As a matter of fact, _you_ did… just for today."

"I forgot. And I am amazed that you didn't use that card earlier in this situation."

"A skilled player knows when to use his best cards," Niou said proudly. "In this case, I had you pretty early from the start."

Yagyuu shook his head with a smile - his eyes sparkling with admiration for his crafty friend.

Niou waited until Yagyuu turned around before touching his shoulders with his hands. His muscles were painstakingly tense - almost like he was bracing himself from an attack. Niou chuckled and started working his shoulders with some vigor.

'_Apparently, those subtle touches throughout the day weren't enough to satisfy my appetite,'_ Niou thought to himself in an amused tone. '_Now look at what I've gotten myself into.'_ However, Niou would be lying to himself if he said he didn't like the situation at all. Yagyuu was becoming less tense extremely quickly and Niou felt very satisfied with his work.

Niou wanted to keep on going to see how relaxed he could make Yagyuu, but his hand and lower arm muscles were starting to ache because he wasn't used to doing these motions. He felt he had to work extra hard to make sure the effect could be felt through Yagyuu's button down shirt and the shirt he wore underneath.

"Yagyuu, how does it feel?"

"Good," Yagyuu replied contentedly. "Really good."

"You know, it will feel better if you took your shirt off."

Yagyuu's head snapped towards him with an incredulous look on his face. Niou definitely needed to be more tactful.

"Take my shirt off," Yagyuu repeated.

"Yeah, you start with the buttons…" Niou explained with a smirk on his face.

"If you insist, I guess I have no choice but to oblige."

"Now you are catching on."

Yagyuu nodded and started undoing his buttons slowly. Niou knew that Yagyuu was feeling a bit uncomfortable now because he didn't like being shirtless in front of people (probably because he always liked to look respectable). Niou had seen him shirtless only in swimming class and when the team decides to go the beach. He didn't really have a reason to take him in then, but now…

Yagyuu was now pulling his undershirt over his head with grace, revealing a fairly defined chest. Niou felt like he was on top of the world. He wanted to reach out and run his hand across the contours of his smooth muscles, but he resisted. Stupid mistakes cause disasters.

"Okay, well…" Yagyuu began.

"You look great," Niou added for assurance. "You should lay on your stomach too. I can get your lower back better that way."

Yagyuu did what he said wordlessly - laying down, resting his head on his folded arms, and telling him he was ready. Niou climbed on top of him, but positioned himself in a way so that he would not sit on him.

Niou started his work again, starting from the shoulders and working into his back. He was astounded by the number of knots that Yagyuu possessed (normal humans shouldn't have that many), but diligently loosened them up. He felt a bit like a sculptor working on a piece of clay and shaping it to be the way he wanted to create a piece of art.

A small sigh escaped Yagyuu's lips and Niou leaned over and noticed Yagyuu's eyes had closed. He moved over to the left side that he hadn't touched yet and continued there, smiling contentedly to himself.

It was getting blazingly hot in the room, or was it just Niou himself? Yagyuu's body was getting warmer and warmer with each touch and a little sweat started to appear in his lower back. Niou wondered how sensual it would feel if he could press his body against his right then.

This time, a somewhat audible moan sounded and Niou noticed it was because he brushed over a certain spot on the left side. Just to confirm, because he couldn't resist the temptation to do so, he moved elsewhere for ten seconds and traveled back as smoothly as he could.

Another moan from Yagyuu and his shoulders contracted slightly before relaxing back. Niou's smile widened due to the responses he was getting. As he moved towards the lower back, he took delight in hearing more and more constant sounds of pleasure that started soft, but were now becoming more persistent and prominent. His breathing was getting heavier and shorter as well.

"Mmm… Niou-kun…" Yagyuu whispered, eyes still closed in merriment.

A flash of fantasy shot through Niou's mind when he heard that - Yagyuu and him kissing in the locker room with fervent ardor as Niou ran his hands through Yagyuu's soft brown hair. Gray eyes filled with want looking into his blue-green ones before he resumed making out with him, causing him to moan 'Niou-kun' over and over…

"I didn't think I was this good at giving massages," Niou said, mentally slapping himself for his latest thought. This was not a good time to be reminded that he was a teenage boy with desires.

_'Honestly, I didn't think I was any good at all,'_ thought Niou playfully. '_Maybe I should consider this as a future career, haha.'_

He felt as if his hands were on fire from the temperature that Yagyuu's body had reached. He assessed the situation in his mind before leaning down and kissing his back as discreetly as he could. There was no indication from Yagyuu that he noticed anything different, so he chanced a few more kisses as he worked out the last area of Yagyuu's body. Niou could call how much satisfaction and enjoyment he was getting out of making Yagyuu feel pleasured almost sinful. There was a reason why he was not sitting on him while giving a massage.

"All done, Yagyuu," Niou proclaimed, getting off of Yagyuu and moving to sit on the side of the bed. He noticed his breathing was surprisingly ragged and realized that he had forgotten to breathe regularly while he was doing what he was doing. He tried to steady his breathing, but his heart was pulsating too fast for him to think properly.

"… I don't think I can get up…" Yagyuu said, immobile in his spot.

"The mission was successful then."

"If there is such a thing as being over successful, you've done it."

"That good, huh?"

"It we as if you knew my body perfectly," Yagyuu stated. "You would apply tension and release to varying rhythms and strengths… your hands ran light, intricate paths across my muscles. … And I know you don't do this very often."

"What can I say, I'm an artist," Niou said proudly. "Actually, I just thought about what I would think feels good. Thank you for the compliment."

"No, thanks for doing that for me. Do you…"

"I'll take a raincheck on a massage for me," Niou said with a bright smile. "It's getting late…"

"Okay, raincheck it is." Yagyuu said, turning over and sitting up.

"I feel so loose to the point that it's amazing beyond belief."

"Haha, welcome to what relaxation feels like. You're overworked," Niou added as he reluctantly got up from the bed. Niou felt that it was a good thing he wore fairly roomy jeans - otherwise he would have some very awkward explaining to do with Yagyuu if he noticed something out of place.

"It's been a fun day - I'm glad you went with it."

"I feel the same," Yagyuu agreed. "I realized throughout the course of the day that I missed laughing and talking with you."

"Ah, well, you never know what you'll miss until it's gone. And then comes back."

"Profound wisdom, Niou-kun?" Yagyuu questioned, getting up to walk him out of the house.

"No, prior experience." Niou admitted. "Have a good night."

"Definitely. See you at school Monday."

Yagyuu waved him off with a smile and Niou smiled back. He looked impressive standing in the doorway - his tall, lean figure enhanced by the glow of the lights behind him. He was still shirtless and his pants were riding slightly below his waistline. Niou forced himself to wrench his eyes away from the mesmerizing sight.

'_You never know what you'll miss until it's gone, huh, Niou?'_ he asked himself while humming a little melody on his way home. He had chanced a lot today and succeeded with it all. In fact, he would probably say that he conquered the dangerous game he played with flawless victory. Niou was almost sure that he didn't stir up anything that would cause Yagyuu to suspect something, and if he did, he covered for it convincingly. He had to admit to himself though that the kisses were definitely a major risk, but that went undetected too.

'_It's enough for now,'_ Niou confirmed with himself. '_More than enough.'_

The stars had never shined brighter than they did that night.


	10. Chapter 10 Letting Go

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T for implied adult themes.

**Author's Note: **I seem to enjoy scenes with water apparently. *random observation*

Also, the characters always seem to be doing one of these things: tennis, eating lunch, conversing at the mahogany tree, taking a shower, or studying. Especially the last one :D

Niou having a caring side… I didn't even think about that as I wrote that last chapter, but it makes sense and it's such a nice way to put it. I think I was really focused on making sure his actions were not going to bring up questions from Yagyuu. Niou, despite being a calculating, tough, devious trickster with an small air of laziness and recklessness, would have a softer side set aside for Yagyuu… at least, I think he does. He knows how to push the limits of everything, but just enough before he gets into serious trouble xD

Also, Yagyuu seems to be extra sensitive to touch. I figured that, being the courteous gentlemen that he is, he likes to respect the spaces of other people and he dislikes other people invading his space. As for his somewhat low self-confidence about his appearance, I feel like he is always focused on school and tennis so he doesn't know how to deal with something as "trivial" as physical appearance. He really just doesn't know what to do sometimes, haha :)

So please enjoy and review if you get the chance! Thank again for those who reviewed the last chapter - I love hearing your reactions! ^^

* * *

Yagyuu woke up feeling more revitalized than he was sure that he had ever felt. The effects of last night's massage was very evident and Yagyuu loved the feeling. He would have to go play some tennis later to see how much quicker and more precise his movements would be.

He got up and opened the curtains to his window - the bright sunlight shining off of his bare skin. He was still shirtless from falling asleep almost immediately after he saw Niou out. This was the first time he slept shirtless, and although he didn't seem to mind it despite his earlier doubts, he certainly preferred wearing a shirt to bed for comfort. He stretched his arms and tried to suppress a yawn as he headed towards the bathroom to take a cool, refreshing shower.

'_If I feel this good,' _Yagyuu thought to himself as he reached for the shampoo. '_I should see if I can get a massage more often.'_ He ran his hand through his hair, feeling the sensation of the smooth strands against cascading water and found his mind wandering back to the day before.

Hanging out with Niou was something he had always treasured. He always looked forward to experiencing unexpected surprises, having deep conversations without fear of betrayal, and even partaking in some of his minor pranks. It was a chance to let his guard down and know that he will be safe. He was glad that Niou forgave him for accidentally putting their friendship lower on his priority list. Now Yagyuu felt that he would be able to achieve a better balance between time dedicate to Yanagi and time dedicated to Niou.

He was now lathering soap over his body, making sure to hit every spot. The moisture on his skin further enhanced the refreshing feeling that he was experiencing. He looked at his body with an analytical look on his face. He had fairly developed muscles that fill well with his tall and lean stature. His skin was a bit pale in his opinion, but it complemented his choice in clothes perfectly. He remembered Niou stating that his body was great after he took off his shirt last night, but he concluded that it probably was a statement to assure him and remind him that he needed more self-confidence when it came to his physical appearance.

He turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a fluffy green towel to dry himself off with, still lost in thought about the previous day. It felt like a whirlwind of activity and it was hard to wrap his mind around the fact that all of that happened in such a short time period. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the phone rang in his bedroom.

"Ah, good morning Yanagi-kun," Yagyuu greeted as he answered the phone.

"Good morning to you too, Hiroshi. Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No, I'm just about to change into my clothes."

"You know I'd want to be there."

"Yanagi-kun! … You're making me feel embarrassed."

"I know," Yanagi replied smoothly and Yagyuu was sure he was smiling deviously on the other side of the line.

"Anyway, what did you call for?"

"Just wanted to see how yesterday went with Masaharu."

It was Yagyuu's turn to smile - he knew that his boyfriend was probably wondering about it all day yesterday, mostly subliminally, but it meant the same. He told Yanagi how he felt that it certainly helped Niou's mood and restored a significant part of their friendship that he didn't' realize was in shatters recently.

As he went into detail about the day at the arcade, art museum, concert hall, and eating places, Yanagi responded with appropriate acknowledgements in all of the right places. It was very obvious that Yanagi supported Yagyuu's complete happiness, which he knew was related to his friendship with Niou, and Yagyuu was proud to say that he couldn't have had a better boyfriend than he already did.

He hesitated when he got to the part about the about the massage, catching himself off-guard. He wasn't sure how a significant other would react if he was told that another guy was touching his body… even if it was just a massage.

"Hiroshi? What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing - just distracted for a second."

"So what happened at the house?"

'_I don't think he would mind if I told him… He would know that it was harmless…'_

"We just talked a little bit and then he wanted to give me a massage."

"Sort of an arbitrary thing… Maybe he's more impulsive than I thought, but I'm sure you went along with it."

"I thought the same thing when he asked."

"So… how did it feel?" Yanagi asked curiously.

"Amazing," Yagyuu responded truthfully. "Almost indescribable really."

Yagyuu had to step back and think about what he had just said. It was certainly amazing - Yagyuu knew that for a fact. As for the indescribable part… it had to be the way his rough hands from holding his tennis racquet (and maybe from doing pushups during training) felt against his smooth skin, the unpredictable variations of tension and release against his muscles, the soothing heat of his touch soaking into his body…

He rubbed his temples as he accepted the recently discovered truth that what he felt last night wasn't just amazing - it was definitely _aroused_. He was glad that Niou avoided mentioning something about his verbal signs of pleasure to spare him any awkward embarrassment. After a few more moments of deliberation, he reminded himself that he had been aroused because of the massage itself and not because of Niou. Still, nonetheless, it was in his best interest to not tell Yanagi about this fact.

"At any rate, I'm glad that things went well," Yanagi continued without digging into the subject more.

'_Is he saying that honestly or have I somehow hurt him?' _Yagyuu asked himself uncertainly.

"And I can't wait to see you in a little bit."

"Yes, right," Yagyuu confirmed, turning his full attention back to Yanagi. "I'll meet you at your house in about half an hour."

"Why so long?" Yanagi inquired interestedly.

"… I forgot to change talking to you," Yagyuu admitted lamely.

"I know," Yanagi said and Yagyuu mentally slapped himself for falling for it. "You're probably wearing your towel around your waist still, brown hair about halfway wet and kind of messy in an attractive way…"

"Yanagi-kun!"

"Love you too," he remarked as he hung up the phone.

'_Yanagi-kun is sometimes too smart for his own good,'_ Yagyuu thought to himself jokingly as he got ready to leave the house. A small fear lurked at the back of his mind and nagged at the front of his heart though - the fear that Yanagi may have figured out exactly what he had felt last night, and Yagyuu had to blame himself for being shamelessly vulnerable to touch.

* * *

The fear turned out to be unfounded when they were spending time with each other for part of the day. No actions, words, or expressions seemed out of place and Yagyuu felt his anxiety ease into nothingness.

They went to the park for a while to read leisurely in the cool shade of a Japanese blossom tree, sitting next to each other, but not touching. Yanagi surprised him with a picnic for lunch - courtesy of his mother's fantastic home cooking.

Afterwards, they went to tackle homework at Yanagi's house. Yanagi finished first, but that wasn't surprising considering that Yagyuu had completely neglected his homework for two nights. This was extremely rare for Yagyuu to do, but he was exhausted after the confrontation with Niou the first night, and was busy spending time with Niou the next day. Thankfully, Yanagi helped him accomplish it a bit faster and put in a movie to watch.

It was a romance movie, but with mystery in it. He enjoyed these two genres very much, but was a bit distracted by Yanagi during the movie, who had pulled him into an embrace and was stroking his arm gently.

"Hey, do you want to know who was the culprit that stole away that woman's man?"

"I don't like spoilers."

"Well, then you'll have to come over another time to see the answer then," Yanagi said mischievously as he kissed Yagyuu. As Yagyuu returned the kiss back, he felt glad that Yanagi was acting normally and that everything was going to be just perfectly fine.

* * *

The next two weeks came and went without any incident occurring outside of the norm. Yagyuu had adjusted his schedule to spend a little bit more time with Niou than he was for a while and it didn't seem to put any noticeable strain on his relationship with Yanagi. He would study with Niou once a week as they always did, but he added a tennis practice session for them alone to work on becoming even stronger as a doubles team, and it was something enjoyable for the both of them. He also made a conscious effort to pay attention to what he talked about during lunch.

Niou's mood seemed to be much more uplifted as a result of this. He was back in business with his pranks, detentions, and standing up to the fukubuchou. In fact, his feelings were rather contagious as Yagyuu found himself more lighthearted around him and sometimes smiling at some of his antics. Of course, most of the time, he had to tell him off for various things in the serious manner that he always did and keep him out of trouble, but that was just another sign that things had gone back to normal.

"I have a rather hypothetical question," Yanagi sated as they were having lunch. It was just them today since Niou was serving detention for switching the chemicals in science class which caused an explosion when the teacher was demonstrating their activity.

"Okay, go ahead," Yagyuu answered back, taking a sip of his drink.

"Do you think Masaharu likes you?"

He peered at him over the rim of the glass inquisitively.

"Excuse me?" Yagyuu asked, taking in Yanagi's facial features for a clue.

"You know… as in, _more than a friend._"

"That's preposterous. We've always been close friends."

"Indeed," Yanagi said, tapping his chin in thought.

"And besides, I don't think he likes guys. He's always flirting with those fangirls of his."

"That's a good observation," Yanagi confirmed. "So let me ask you this… Do you have feelings for him?"

"What? Are you trying to break up with me or something?"

"Certainly not. I guess I should rephrase - _Did_ you ever have feelings for him?"

"No, the only feelings I've ever had were for you." Yagyuu had abandoned his drink and looked over at Yanagi who had crossed his arms and closed his eyes a bit further in thought.

"Thank you for answering that question. I trust you, but I needed to hear you say it."

"It's okay, glad that I could ease your doubts," Yagyuu said. "It's my turn then. Why do you ask?" Yagyuu was intently focused now because there was no logical explanation to explain the bizarre scenario that was occurring.

"I sense that Niou's behavior has been rather… different lately," Yanagi announced. "Especially after your day with him two weeks ago."

"You're not accusing me-" Yagyuu began.

"Not you. I don't think you did anything unfaithful at all. I feel it is he who has shown his cards and is vying for you through his crafty, subtle ways that unfortunately don't deceive me."

"This is ridiculous, Yanagi-kun," Yagyuu said with annoyance. "Please name a few instances that have caused you to feel this way."

"A few?" Yanagi repeated as he thought about what to say. "The other day, he offered to take your court clean-up duty so you could catch the concert on TV that you had been looking forward to. Then yesterday, he dived in front of you to block a shot from Sanada that would have most likely injured you. He's been holding the door for you instead of simply going on his way without thinking of being overly nice to others… And he's been studying more. That's completely abnormal with no reason to back it up."

"He is just happy to be back to the way we were and he's showing that he appreciates our friendship. Maybe he just wants to solidify the fact that I made a good choice in choosing him as a best friend? Besides, he essentially "gave" me to you because he wanted me to be happy," Yagyuu countered back as politely as he could, pressing on quickly to not allow Yanagi to speak. "… and lastly, I love you."

"I'm sorry Hiroshi," Yanagi apologized as Yagyuu's tone was rapidly becoming more agitated. "Again, I just had to know."

"No, it's okay," Yagyuu said, touching him lightly on the leg under the table. "I should have not gotten so wound up about this."

"It just shows that you really don't want to lose me and I don't want to lose you either."

* * *

Yanagi's conversation unfortunately echoed around in his head for the rest of the day. He remembered sneaking a glance to his left periodically during the class he had after lunch at Niou to see if he could pick up anything. Niou was staring out of the window most of the time not paying attention to the lecture, but on the last time, he noticed Yagyuu looking and he winked at him. Nothing out of the usual there except that Yagyuu felt that maybe his blue-green eyes sparkled more. It might have just been a trick of the sunlight.

The last class of the day was Physical Education and it just happened to be swimming. Yagyuu was not the biggest fan of swimming at school because he didn't like other people looking at his body and he didn't like having to deal with making himself look presentable again after class.

'_It could be worse,'_ Yagyuu thought sardonically. '_I could have PE in the morning and have to come to the rest of my classes smelling faintly of chlorine with my hair disheveled.'_

He changed quickly and hurried out to the pool where half of his class was waiting. Some girls that he was sure liked him giggled and blushed when he walked by. He nodded curtly back and they ended up excitedly chattering while he stretched out his arms and legs.

His PE class was combined with another class that contained Sanada and Yukimura. Yanagi, unfortunately, was in neither of those classes, but at least he was with Marui and Jackal. As he was scanning the area for some of his friends, he slowly made his way to the edge of the pool and looked down into the pristine depth of the water.

A hand appeared in front of his vision and took his glasses as he was pushed from behind causing him to fall in without a chance to react. He surfaced as quickly as he could, spluttering and shaking his head. He squinted to see who the perpetrator was and saw a telltale shock of silver white hair. He was almost positive that he was twirling Yagyuu's fragile glasses around in his fingers effortlessly, smirk prominently in place.

"You miteminshai."

"Niou-kun," Yagyuu scold as he swam closer. "What on earth was that for? And besides, I can't 'take a closer look' because you have my glasses."

"Class was about to start. I was aiding in your punctionality." Niou explained simply like he was talking to a young child.

"You couldn't do it in a more reasonable way?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Niou asked. "Here, I'll join you so that you'll feel better." Yagyuu watched as Niou set down his glasses in a safe place (hopefully since he couldn't see well) and jumped not-so-gracefully into the water next to him. He dipped his head under the water and resurfaced with his hair partly laying down instead of his normal, spiked everywhere hair. It certainly wasn't a bad look, but it was different and Yagyuu was accustomed to the other look.

They had waded to a more shallow end of the pool where the rest of the class was assembled. Yagyuu saw Yukimura, still mostly dry with his arms folded across his chest, next to a taller Sanada, who strong muscles built from kendo training glistened with water beads from the pool. Yagyuu found himself impressed again by how much power they generated from just their mere presence.

Most of the class was spent working with the breaststroke technique and diving technique, which Yagyuu was just fine with. Towards the end of class, they were allowed to divide up into pairs to check each other's progress. Yagyuu always paired with Niou, but Yukimura asked if he could partner him this one time and Yagyuu accepted.

As they were working, Yagyuu's eyes kept wandering over to Niou, who was stuck with a somewhat scowling Sanada. His mind was back at it again - seeking desperately for something that would tell him the answer.

Niou's body was a bit stockier than his, but not by much. He definitely had more build than him, but not anywhere as much as Sanada did. His hip bones were prominent and the way his lower abdomens were shaped was appealing. His body was irrefutably attractive to Yagyuu.

'_But I just like his physical look,'_ Yagyuu reasoned with himself. '_That doesn't mean I have feelings for him.'_

Yagyuu and Yukimura ended their lesson a little earlier than everyone else because Yukimura was still trying to be a little careful outside of tennis in his recovery. They ended up sitting on the edge of the pool, legs dangling in the cool water.

"Anything on your mind, Yagyuu?" Yukimura asked politely.

'_Almost too politely,' _Yagyuu thought, which brought up a red flag in his mind.

"No… not particularly," Yagyuu answered.

"Ah, well, you seem a bit preoccupied," Yukimura stated, leaning back on his hands and looking at the ceiling. "Nothing happened between you and Yanagi, right?"

Yagyuu froze, caught off-guard, but quickly recovered with a shake of his head.

"We are fine," Yagyuu responded back. Indeed, nothing was wrong in their relationship, but the previous conversation was unsettling.

"Oh good. I'm happy that Yanagi is happy."

"You are a very dear friend to him, Yukimura-kun."

"And he is a dear friend to me," Yukimura replied sweetly. "He is with someone truly special."

'_I wonder if he knows?'_ Yagyuu questioned himself. '_There is possibly no way Yanagi-kun could have told Yukimura-kun in the time elapsed… unless the Three Demons communicate telepathically…'_

"Thank you for the praise."

"You're welcome," replied Yukimura. "Well, down to business then…"

'_No way - he misled me?'_ thought Yagyuu in astonishment.

"I noticed that you have been watching Niou rather closely throughout the duration of class."

'_Is there anything that escapes the Child of God?'_

"And I think I know my team exceptionally well and this constitutes as unusual behavior for you. Care to explain?" Yukimura finished, smiling with interest at Yagyuu who was at a lost for words. From the tone of his voice, it was more of a command concealed as a harmless question, but it seemed as though he wasn't going to tell anyone of their conversation. He was merely checking in with the well-being of his team.

"I didn't notice I was acting that way," Yagyuu assured Yukimura. "But if I was, then I'm sorry for raising some questions."

"You were not looking at him like you wanted him… more like…" Yukimura paused searching for the appropriate words as Yagyuu waited uneasily for the final verdict. "…like a puzzle that you were trying to figure out."

"That's an interesting observation," Yagyuu noted, relieved that Yukimura didn't say something else. "Maybe it's one of those days where I'm subconsciously wondering how my best friend works."

"I have days like those too…"

Yagyuu looked at Yukimura who had now turned his attention to Sanada, watching him get ready to dive.

"I don't understand how he manages to act so stoic and intimidating all of the time," Yukimura mused. "His gruff exterior and apparent lack of people skills effectively mask up his gentler, more caring side…Although I do have to admit that I secretly enjoy this fact about him…"

"Maybe we'll never figure out our best friends?" Yagyuu threw in, adding to the pile of thoughts that they were accumulating.

"That's probably true, but the adventure is in the discovery process and I'm intrigued by it."

"Sanada-kun did mention that you seem to enjoy figuring people out."

"Did he now? I might have to indulge him a little bit this weekend for that."

Yagyuu laughed softly as he watched Niou attempt a dive, but lacking the finesse and grace that Sanada had. Water splashed everywhere and hit Sanada in the face, who started threatening to make him run laps carrying Kirihara on his back until he died from dehydration or exhaustion.

"I suppose I'm going to have to stop him," Yukimura said with a pretend, dramatic sigh. "I feel like it's partially my fault that he's more irritable than normal because I'm not partnered with him. And that he's with Niou of all people." He got up to leave, but turned back to face Yagyuu with an angelic smile full of radiance and charm.

"One more thing… I'd follow my heart if I were you regardless of what your mind tells you. You'll be much happier that way."

Yagyuu was completely aghast. Yukimura had known exactly what was going on and was simply testing him out to confirm. That smile cloaked his true intentions - he was a cunning predator that just sank his teeth into his naive prey.

'_No! I'm overreacting!' _Yagyuu yelled at himself. '_He was just being inquisitive and showing concern for my mental health. I'm reading too much into it. He does what he can for the team's success and I'm a part of it.'_

He attempted to regain his composure as he focused on Yukimura who had caught Sanada's attention by touching him on his arm, having an immediate calming effect on the infuriated fukubuchou. He climbed out of the water quickly and Yukimura handed him his towel. Niou mouthed 'thank you' to Yukimura, who gave him a small wink.

There was something so perfect and complete about the friendship between Sanada and Yukimura, despite some major differences in their personalities. Their similarities worked together well though and it seemed as though their connection was indestructible. All of this reminded him of his friendship with Niou.

Yagyuu frowned in annoyance. He was back to square one, but this time he had both Yukimura's and Yanagi's conversations weighing on his mind. He didn't have much time to gripe about it because Niou had made his way over, demanding him to never let Yukimura force Sanada to partner him again. Niou argued that torture was not allowed during school hours, and that Yukimura was a sly devil with a streak of malice that should be restrained. Niou was just being Niou again.

* * *

As luck would have it, he still had the extra tennis practice session with Niou in the evening.

'_Of course, this happens one day a week and it just happened to be this day,' _Yagyuu thought dryly to himself as they were packing up to leave school for the day. '_Maybe I'll borrow some of Yamabuki's Sengoku's luck to make up for my apparent lack of it.'_

The tennis practice came and went without any incident though. They spent quite a bit of time doing essential drills and occasionally hitting each other with the ball. The main focus was giving Yagyuu some experience with adding topspin to the ball (he heavily favored flat shots like his Laser Beam) and adding more power to Niou's groundstroke (who was more proficient with placing the ball anywhere on the court). The evening was ridiculously hot as they practiced and their jerseys stuck to their sweaty bodies uncomfortably.

At the end, they both collapsed down against the wall that the street tennis courts they were at had. Yagyuu brushed back the damp hair that had fallen over his eyes into his usual part, but Niou didn't do anything seeing how his hair was usually unaffected by everything except for a lot of water at one time.

Yagyuu liked how Niou's hair was - not that he would ever try a haircut like that. It suited Niou exactly - cool, wild, unique, and untamable by others. He wondered what it would feel like to run his hands through his hair…

'_Not again,'_ Yagyuu groaned to himself. '_Why am I having such thoughts about his physical makeup?'_ Maybe it was that he knew he could assess the outside of Niou, but he knew it was harder to analyze the inside of Niou. Whatever the reason was, his train of thought met an early demise as it crashed and burned when Niou asked him what Yukimura had talked to him about.

Evidently, both Niou and Sanada had been talking to each other about them before they had started arguing. Yagyuu kindly told him that Yukimura was simply asking how things were with Yanagi and was pondering about things with no definite answer. Niou smirked and dismissed it as something he could see Yukimura doing and that Sanada didn't have the emotional capacity or patience to partake in Yukimura's eccentricities.

* * *

Four days later, Yagyuu found himself at Yanagi's finishing up the movie that was previously unfinished due to some distractions. Or at least, attempting to finish it again, since Yanagi kept running his hands all over Yagyuu's body and he found it hard to focus, let alone breathe. He was positive that Yanagi found some sort of sadistic thrill in causing him to moan with pleasure at the slightest touch and to crave for more. Yagyuu was ever so slightly perplexed at Yanagi's behavior - it was a shade unusual for him to be so physical as often as he had been in the week. It wasn't anything extreme though - just the fact that he seemed to find ways to hold his hand or hug him more frequently.

"Hiroshi," Yanagi said in a seductive whisper that could have rivaled Hyotei's Yushi Oshitari's normal speaking voice. "I know that you like this."

"You're teasing me again."

"Mmmhmm, but I can stop if you want."

"You're hiding something in your sleeve."

"Indeed. I'm not going to stop teasing you. I'm going to give you everything that your body aches for right now. Starting here…"

Yanagi climbed on top of him and engulfed him in a kiss so strong that he fell backwards on the bed. Yagyuu was essentially immobilized as Yanagi exerted control, taking off his clothes with absurd efficiency…

'_So much for that movie,'_ Yagyuu thought as he lay there, panting heavily. They had gone as far as they had during the library incident about three weeks ago, and despite being a bit more frantic and quicker paced than before, it felt just as good. He wondered if Yanagi was feeling the same way.

Something didn't feel right at that moment as he turned over to look into Yanagi's warm brown eyes. The whole thing felt more passionate than the last time, but to the point that it seemed that Yanagi wanted him to truly understand his feelings. Yagyuu couldn't fathom what it could have been and Yanagi was waiting for some kind of verbal response.

"Yanagi-kun, that was… wow…" Yagyuu said, wondering if he sounded as lame as he thought. He was never good with improvising something on the spot.

"I know. I feel the same way."

"Good."

"What's on your mind other than this?"

Yagyuu threw semi-panic to the winds when Yanagi saw right through his feeble attempt to conceal his thoughts. In addition to telepathy, he wondered if the Three Demons were also gifted in the ability to read thoughts. He decided to say the first thing that popped into his mind.

"Are Yukimura-kun and Sanada-kun in a relationship?" asked Yagyuu hastily.

"Now where would you get an idea like that?" asked Yanagi interestedly.

"Just…" Yagyuu said hesitantly, trying to figure out how much to say. "His tone of voice and choice of working when we were hang a conversation in PE class."

"Don't you usually partner Masaharu?"

"I do, but Yukimura-kun wanted to partner me today for an obscure and undisclosed reason."

"Well, you are the first one to point it out. But I figured you would be first since the rest of the team is oblivious to fine details," Yanagi said with pride for Yagyuu and joking contempt for his team.

"How long? If you don't mind me asking?"

"Let me think…" Yagyuu said, turning towards the ceiling in recollection. "I can't pinpoint the exact date since they never told me, but I know that it was about a month or so before we got together."

"That's wonderful for them. I think they fit each other perfectly."

"To be honest, I was a bit envious of them for a while… being best friends with both of them…" Yanagi reminisced. "Oh, Hiroshi?"

"I won't say a word. Promise. I respect them greatly… and I respect my life as well."

Yanagi laughed and Yagyuu smiled, pleased that he was able to say something humorous once in a while.

"So, what happens at the end of the movie?" Yagyuu asked, changing the subject.

"I thought you didn't like spoilers."

"I don't, but statistics say that I am never going to make it to the end of the movie."

"They invented something called resistance. You might want to try that sometime," Yanagi said jokingly.

"My defenses are weak - they have nothing against your tactical offensive genius."

"Full of witty remarks today, aren't you?" Yanagi commented approvingly.

"Niou's influence I'm sure," Yagyuu guessed reasonably.

"Of course - it would be him," Yanagi replied offhandedly still in a teasing manner. "Anyway, back to the original question, the culprit at the end of the movie was no one."

"How does that make any sense?"

"Because the woman let the man go to be with the one that deserved him."

"I did not see that coming," Yagyuu said as he started to get dressed.

"Neither did I," Yanagi agreed, pulling on his own clothes. "Neither did I..."

In a minute, they were both fully dressed and rearranging the pillows on the bed. Yagyuu was still feeling wonderfully content, and was sure Yanagi was feeling the same until he took a glimpse at his face while tidying up.

"Yanagi-kun, what's wrong?"

"No… nothing."

"You seem distant," Yagyuu observed. "In fact, I think you've been vaguely distracted all day."

"I'm fine."

"Then… was this not good enough?" Yagyuu asked reluctantly and a bit nervously.

"No!" Yanagi said loudly. Feeling a bit ashamed at his sudden reaction, he apologized before continuing. "I enjoyed every minute, every second… I didn't want it to end."

"Then…?"

Silence. That paper-thin kind that a dull knife could cut through. Yanagi sat down on the edge of the bed and indicated that Yagyuu should sit as well. The air was heavy and uncomfortable - further enhanced by Yanagi, who was normally the epitome of self-control, fidgeting mildly with his hands.

"Do you…" he started softly. "… remember the conversation I had with you a few days ago?"

Yagyuu thought back and it surfaced as readily as someone who was underwater for too long and desperately needed oxygen.

"The one about Niou."

"Yes… Have you thought about it all?"

"You're kidding, right?" Yagyuu said incredulously. "It was hovering on my mind all day and the next day…"

"Have you come to any conclusion?"

"Yes. I think he's rather attractive and I kept noticing things about him as I was figuring him out. But it's all physical and I don't have any emotional feelings for him," Yagyuu said in a fast stream hoping the speed would wash away Yanagi's idiotic notion.

"And can you say for a fact that he doesn't have feelings for you?"

"Yes… no," Yagyuu said defiantly. "That's not the point."

"It is completely the point," Yanagi said regrettably. "I've been thinking about it a lot lately and everything adds up."

"Such as…?"

"Remember how he was missing for three days before with a weak excuse of a story to back it up? Notice how much more spirited he has been around you ever since your day together? Even the contents of that day said that he wanted to feel like he had your heart, if only temporarily and fabricated in his mind."

"Yanagi-kun, do you think you are reading too far into this?"

"Facts don't lie."

"When assembled wrongly, they do!"

"He's been careful about what he does, but he's been watching you when you aren't looking and going above and beyond to find ways to brighten your day."

Yagyuu was agitated. He hated feeling this way immensely.

"And about you," Yanagi continued, avoiding his eyes. "You seem to be at ease when you are around him, almost as if you felt completely at home."

"I feel that way about you," Yagyuu pointed out.

"You do, but I know it's not as much as when you are with Masaharu."

"I'm not ignorant of my own feelings!"

"You are. You have been before and that hasn't changed. Masaharu was the one who told me your harbored feelings, not you."

If it felt like Yanagi had gone after his heart with a dagger before, repeatedly stabbing him with each sentence, then he was now twisting it harshly in the wound.

"… I don't know what to say…"

"Hiroshi… I love you and I always will… Please don't forget that," Yanagi said, fresh tears forming in his eyes. At once, Yagyuu's anger evaporated as two new feelings crept in: concern and fear.

"Yanagi-kun," he said, pulling him close. "Why are you saying this?"

"Because I have to."

"No…"

"I'm breaking up with you."

Yagyuu was stunned. He didn't see it coming until just before it did, but it was too late. Yanagi pressed a finger to his lips to keep him from protesting immediately.

"I'm doing this for you, not for him."

"I just said I don't have feelings for him."

"And I find that to be untrue," Yanagi argued back, tears falling in streams now. "I'm too much like you and can't offer you everything that you are missing. But he makes you laugh, he makes you frustrated, and he makes you happy . He completes you."

"No… no… this isn't happening."

Yagyuu was crying now unable to hold back the mess of emotions any longer. His hold on Yanagi tightened as he buried his face in his shoulder.

"Please remember that it was nothing you did to push me away. I just want you to be with your true soulmate. I'll be happy knowing that you genuinely are, and that is why I'm sacrificing myself for you."

Yagyuu couldn't respond any longer. He was beaten and hurt and he had now lost someone very dear to him.

"No one will know anything happened - we will remain close friends. However, on the condition that he does not feel the same about you as I know you do for him, I'll take you back with a full apology."

"Is this supposed to be a game?" he yelled between ragged gasps of air.

"Not at all, just reassurance that you will always have someone no matter what Masaharu's response is. Now, please Hiroshi, trust me," Yanagi pleaded, taking his hand into his own.

"No, I've had enough," Yagyuu said bitterly, standing up and pulling his hand away. "If you wanted to let me go, why didn't you do it earlier before we did what we did?"

"Because I wanted to be that close to you one last time. I said I love you. I wasn't lying."

"I'm going to prove you wrong, Yanagi-kun. I want you know to know that… that I want you."

Yagyuu grabbed his things and stormed out, heartbroken, and leaving an equally heartbroken Yanagi sitting on the edge of the bed. Something echoed ceaselessly in his head as he ran home: Yanagi's data had never been wrong. Yagyuu wanted to curse at the night sky that was devoid of the light that had always guided him.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yanagi! *hugs* Yagyuu! *hugs* I love them both. And Niou too *hugs* Why did you have to splash Sanada with water? :P

Now things have really taken off. As reassurance, they'll all be okay - just very heartbroken :( Anyway, I've already started writing the next chapter because I wanted to make sure that I could bridge this chapter to Chapter 12. I hope that it comes off as emotional and unpredictable as I am trying to portray it. Honestly, it's the hardest chapter I've written - the other ones I wrote were fairly easy to come up with a good pacing of the sequence of events. This one, however, has a lot of thoughts and ideas coming together and it's stressful to get the writing structured just right. I'll make it through somehow!

By the way, Yukimura doesn't really know what Yagyuu was thinking - he just has an inkling that Yagyuu is lying to himself about certain things. But it's hilarious to think that he does know since he is able to talk ambiguously and the team knows he controls all of them to a degree. That sly, manipulative demon. Actually, Yagyuu (yes Yagyuu), Niou, and Yanagi are quite manipulative themselves - Sanada could be, but he prefers ruthless brutality because it usually saves time and energy.

Lastly, there is a completely unintentional ironic parallel - did you catch it? It was the movie that they were watching. I wanted to combine the genres of romance and mystery together (another allude to Yagyuu's interests) and then I had Yanagi ask a question that would seem like something that the movie was about… the question of who stole someone that was in love with someone else. In the second time they watched the movie, I knew that Yagyuu would want to know, and when I had Yanagi answer with the fact that the person was given away instead of stolen, I realized that I accidentally foreshadowed what was to come later in the chapter. Crazy how creativity works.


	11. Chapter 11 Uncertainty

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T for borderline angst.

**Author's Note:** This chapter was undoubtedly the HARDEST chapter I have ever written. And the only one where I had serious writer's block. It was the kind where I knew exactly what needed to happen, but the sequences of events and thoughts were a jumbled mess and I couldn't transition anything right...

But eventually things worked out and hopefully the chapter turned out as well as the rest of the story. At least Chapter 12 will be much easier for me to write. *sigh of relief*

Randomly, I was listening to Tenimyu Final Match First and Second on shuffle when I was working on the transitions between scenes and adding detail to what was already there. Whenever I was writing someone's dialogue, their actor just happened to be singing. And this happened quite often. Irony, anyone? Or maybe just selective hearing…

Please read and review if you get a chance! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far :) Other than that, please enjoy the long-awaited Chapter 11! ^^

* * *

The alarm clock went off, piercing the silence that Yagyuu had accompanying him all night. The night had certainly not unfurled its splendor - the seconds ticked by painstakingly slow as Yagyuu drifted in the narrow void of being asleep and awake at the same time. Incoherent thoughts had occupied his mind that night, staying long enough to be noticed, but the moment he tried to make sense of one, it fled to be replaced by an even more muddled thought.

'_I am a complete wreck,'_ thought Yagyuu sadly as he attempted to get up. He felt completely sapped of energy and emotionally ruined. He couldn't even comprehend learning in school, which was inevitably approaching as he laid there. The only thing he knew for sure was that Yanagi was no longer his boyfriend and he wished that it was all a part of an unwanted nightmare.

'_No one can know,'_ Yagyuu thought with a grave heart. '_Nothing has changed - everything is the same.'_ It was the downside of having kept his relationship a secret - the inability of being able to have others comfort him without having to explain how he first got into a relationship.

Yanagi would no longer discreetly brush his hand across his during lunch or in the library. Yagyuu would no longer have roses and notes pleasantly surprise him every couple of mornings in his locker. Yanagi would no longer hold him in his arms, whispering sweetly how much he loved him in his ear… and Yagyuu would no longer embrace him back with words of the same...

Just thinking about going through the day where everything was going to return back to its initial starting position like nothing had ever occurred was absolute torture. He finally climbed out of the bed without even bothering to fold the blanket. He figured it was better than destroying something, which he suddenly had an urge to do, and made his way to the bathroom.

'_Was Yanagi-kun being fair to me?'_ pondered Yagyuu as he brushed his teeth. '_He didn't even take my feelings into consideration!'_ Tears were trickling down his face so he avoided looking in the mirror to avoid feeling more weak and helpless than he already was.

However, Yagyuu didn't know what his feelings were exactly once Yanagi instilled some doubt in him. It also didn't make Yagyuu feel any better knowing that both of them were responsible for causing all of this second guessing. He wiped away the hot tears sliding down his face angrily and looked in the mirror with fierce determination.

'_I am strong,'_ Yagyuu told himself resolutely. '_I can make it through today without anyone knowing anything.'_ He wanted to say his resolve was there 100%, but he would be lying as his will continued to crumble from the same relentless thoughts he had been prey to all night.

* * *

Already halfway through the day and no one suspected Yagyuu of being anything less than his normal self. The sheer amount of willpower that it took to be himself was excruciatingly taxing and he felt the need to seclude himself from the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria. He avoided going to the roof because it reminded him of Niou and he avoided the library because it reminded him of Yanagi. He eventually found a spot outside in the shade of a tree where he could see the tennis courts.

He took a sip from his drink, wincing slightly as the cold liquid stung the inside of his throat, hurt from crying endlessly through the night. He was lucky that he didn't have to speak much that morning - his voice started to sound bit hoarse as the day went on, but he claimed it was because something was caught in his throat when one person asked.

Niou was not present in their first class, which meant that he overslept, and that happened from time to time much to Yagyuu's disapproval. Despite that, he was able to show up at the end of class, apologizing that he missed the test, and asked if he could take it during the next period. Fortunately for him, they had math next, and since he was an exemplary student in that subject, he was excused without any issue.

For Yagyuu, the morning's events meant that he was not near Niou, enabling him to have an easier time coping with all of the turmoil that he had inside. Part of him wondered if he would have felt better with Niou poking fun at him or distracting him in some way, but the other part of him knew that Niou and his unknown feelings made up the root of the problem.

"Hey Hiroshi," said Yanagi's voice and Yagyuu looked up to see him standing over him with a tired look on his face.

"I thought you were tutoring some students today," Yagyuu said feeling a bit perplexed.

"I ended the session early," he admitted sitting down next to him. "They were able to accomplish everything that had to be done."

Yagyuu didn't reply as he looked at his soup, debating if he could actually eat it.

"I was worried about you all night and I needed to see if you were okay."

"I have to be, but I'm not."

"That makes me feel slightly relieved," Yanagi said honestly. "I was afraid you were going to be depressed today and that's something I don't want you to feel."

"It's fine. I'll feel better eventually," came Yagyuu's disheartened answer.

"Hiroshi," Yanagi said pleadingly. "This as the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. You are not the only one hurting so please don't push me away as your friend."

"You didn't have to break up with me."

"I would be hurting you more if I didn't."

Yanagi squeezed Yagyuu's hand briefly and tenderly. Yagyuu found that being so close to him and knowing that he was so far away was unbearable.

"You can end this hurt and this agony as soon as you ask Masaharu about his feelings. Whatever his response is, you will have someone in your life again."

"Why can't you ask him yourself?" Yagyuu asked irritably.

"Because he would lie to me. And besides, don't you want to hear the answer for yourself?"

The bell rang and Yanagi stood up to depart.

"Please ask him soon. It hurts me to see you this way." A single tear slid down the left side of his face as he left for his next class.

'_Yanagi-kun is right,'_ Yagyuu thought to himself as he got up gingerly. '_The sooner I ask, the faster this gets resolved.'_ All Niou had to say in response to his his question is 'no' and he would be with Yanagi again after a full apology for doing this to him.

A fresh wave of sadness tinged with guilt washed over him as he headed into the hall. Inevitably, one person was going to gain and one person was going to lose from this, and it distressed Yagyuu greatly knowing that he couldn't make them both truly happy.

Of course, if he didn't ask Niou at all, then he would continue in this downward spiral of anguish that he would have to deal with by himself, ensuring that the other two would go on contentedly with their normal lives. Yagyuu wasn't sure where his emotional breaking point was, but he was afraid to find out, ruling out this choice as a possibility. He was helplessly cornered without any chance of escape.

* * *

"Mother, I am going to bed early," Yagyuu said as he headed upstairs towards his bedroom.

"Are you sure Hiroshi? Phantom of the Opera is on and it's your favorite movie."

"Thanks for thinking of me Mother, but it's been a rough day and I need some rest."

"Oh?" his mother inquired worriedly. "But you didn't even have tennis practice today."

"It's not something you should worry about really. I will be fine in the morning." He left as the exuberant melody of 'Masquerade' sounded across the living room.

'_The entire movie reminds me too much of what I'm going through right now,'_ thought Yagyuu dejectedly.

Indecisive and quiet Christine has to choose between the two men that want her - the dashing and protective Raoul or the tormented and mysterious Phantom. Throughout the majority of the movie, Christine's feelings are easily swayed by Raoul and the Phantom, and it isn't until towards the end where she is forced to make a decision between them, knowing that she could only make one of them happy. Yagyuu wondered if Christine would have confronted her feelings and chosen on her own if she wasn't in such a perilous situation.

'_That would make me the girl then,'_ Yagyuu thought as he struggled into his pajamas. '_And Yanagi would be Raoul and Niou would be the Phantom.'_ He winced at the thought of himself as the opposite gender. He hastily tried to put his mind on something else…

Yagyuu loved Yanagi because of his patience and stableness. He was very drawn to his romantic personality and limitless intelligence. Yanagi just made him feel completely safe because he was from the same kind of world he was from: order and predictability.

Niou was essentially chaos incarnate that would unleash himself at unpredictable times. People failed to recognize that what he does, from mischievous deeds to upstanding authority, is already thought through. His timing is not poor - he chooses whether he wants to be in trouble or not as he never sees it as a form of punishment.

Yagyuu sometimes found himself in admiration of this particular trait of Niou's almost in an intoxicated way. It was like he wanted more that controlled unstableness in his life, but he hesitated every time because he didn't want to leave what was safe. The only time he felt comfortable enough to be troublesome and carefree was when he was pretending to be Niou during their tennis matches, and while it always felt liberating to not have so many expectations, it was something that he never wanted to become fully.

Yanagi was everything he knew and respected - Niou was an enigma that he wanted to pry into despite all of the danger signs. To Yagyuu, Yanagi would gladly share his thoughts like an open book - Niou's book would have to be pieced together first, assuming you can find all of the pages. Yagyuu faced a difficult decision: Did he want to live his life in constant comfort or did he want to take a chance and venture into the unknown, maybe discovering something even more wonderful than what he had?

There was still the remaining question of whether Niou even liked guys. Yanagi implied that he did because he supposedly has feelings for him, but Niou mentioned in the locker room after their confrontation that he didn't. He wouldn't think that Niou would ever lie to him, but there was a small chance he would if he was trying to hide his feelings. However, if he cared for him, why would he not fight back for him?

'_The answer is simple,_' Yagyuu told himself. '_He thought I would be happier with Yanagi. I probably would have done the same thing.'_ Everything was running in circles, which irritated Yagyuu immensely. All three of them were essentially the same - introverted, deceptive, and sacrificial. That meant that it was hard to separate their true intentions from their actions and even harder to understand without inquiring about their thoughts. He had nothing to work with but his own unfounded suspicions, and that once again led up to having to ask Niou about the situation.

He finished changing and switched off the lights. The darkness was faintly pierced by the moon, obscured by dark clouds, filtering through the window. Yagyuu made his way to his bed and climbed under the covers to continue mulling over his thoughts some more. Regardless of his feelings, whatever they may be, Yanagi was not taking him back unless he proves that Niou didn't have these feelings. He wondered if he would feel slightly better if he sorted out his own feelings anyway before trying to sort out someone else's without any form of genuine fact.

'_The only way I can think of figuring this out is to start with the most recent,'_ Yagyuu thought to himself. '_So that would be the Saturday I spent with him…'_

The first thing that came to his mind was sitting in the concert hall and letting the soothing melodies of a piano concerto wash over him. He was settled comfortably back into his seat, but still maintained a respectable upright posture as he reflected back on the day and how much he enjoyed himself.

'_Indeed, I laughed freely and quite often when we were playing in the arcade. I felt comfortable enough to wear my shirt more casually than normal. And I felt happy when Niou chose to do things that would appeal to us both…'_

He remembered sneaking a glance over at Niou, whose eyes were following the quick movement of the violin bows and noticing that it looked like Niou was enveloped in a warm glow. He wondered if his imagination was playing tricks with him again…

'_I don't think Niou is selfish at all, but for a day that was supposed to be all of Niou's choosing, I certainly didn't expect what I had gotten with my favorite cafe and a concert and…' _

Fragments of memories suddenly rushed through head like they had been waiting behind a dam that had finally broken down after the constant pressure of water beating against it. Drowsiness had started to settle in from how worn out he was and he forced himself to make sense of them. He remembered…

…feeling a slight tingling sensation where Niou's hand had brushed across neck when he was unbuttoning his shirt…

…the color rising to his face when Niou bought him desert and he couldn't control it…

… hugging him for the second time in their friendship because his body moved entirely on its own…

… seeing Niou almost glowing - or maybe it was a trick of the sunlight filtering in from the windows set high on to to the wall of the museum? He couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked…

… Niou smiling at him more often and brightly...

… the same tingling sensations whenever Niou accidentally brushed him with his body…

… a craving for more when he was being massaged...

… wishing that he held on longer when they did embrace…

…never being bored together…

…laughing uncontrollably…

…trusting completely…

…supporting tirelessly…

…accomplishment…

…competition…

…satisfaction…

…smiling...

…loving…

* * *

"Niou's missing?" Yagyuu exclaimed when he heard the news from Niou's mother who had answered the door when he knocked.

"He didn't come last night and part of his belongings are gone," she choked out, gasping desperately for air. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder while he regained his own composure.

"I am going to look for him," Yagyuu declared, sprinting off without another word.

It was almost pitch dark and the street lamps were not on for some unknown reason that Yagyuu did not care to think about. Yagyuu didn't need to see anyway - he knew exactly how to get to where he was going.

A cold chill swept through, but Yagyuu pressed on, hot from running at full speed. His left foot caught something abruptly and he fell, one side of his face and arm scraping the pavement roughly.

He winced as he got up and touched the areas that were affected. It was moist and he deduced that he was bleeding a bit heavily for the kind of fall that he had. He shrugged it off and kept on running until he was at the lone mahogany tree that was a part of their secret hideout.

Niou was not there. Yagyuu made his way over to the tree, panting heavily and clutching his chest, which was burning from exhaustion and concern.

He fell to his knees, pounding his fists against the tree in agony at the thought of never seeing Niou again. His one and only best friend that deserted him without a word.

"No! Come back Niou!" Yagyuu cried out into the darkness.

'_This can't happen again! I worried about him constantly when he was missing for three days a couple of weeks ago.'_

The rest of his body collapsed to the ground, succumbing to the nagging feeling that needed to know if Niou was okay. He didn't know where to start looking or who to ask - Niou never let anyone know his whereabouts because he enjoyed having people guess at how his mind worked. Yagyuu was never one of those people until now.

A flash of lightning came out of nowhere and Yagyuu saw something glint in the corner of his eye. Yagyuu made his way over in earnest curiosity and grasped around blindly until he felt his hand touch something cold and smooth.

It was a glass jar. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and used its light to see. There was a folded piece of paper and he tried to take off the top, but it was tightly sealed. After trying to no avail, he concluded that the only way to open it was to break it.

Before he could throw it against the tree, it shattered on its own, shards piercing into his skin or flying off in every direction. The pain was excruciating and his hands shook as he struggled to open the note, which he deemed more important than his current physical state.

_Dear Yagyuu,_

_ By the time you get this note, I will be gone. I'm sorry I left without saying a proper goodbye, but I knew you would do everything within your power to stop me from leaving, and so I was left with this choice. Don't bother looking - you won't find me and I don't want you to try._

_ I couldn't take it anymore. It hurt me every time I saw you with Yanagi - holding his hand, kissing him, and loving him. I wanted all of you for myself because I had fallen madly in love with you. You never returned those feelings… I wasn't sure if you had even noticed how I felt…_

_ I have to leave for my own sake - you can think of me as being selfish if you want. Don't worry - I am not alone. Yanagi is here with me if you didn't find out he was missing yet._

_ He wanted me to tell you that he thinks that you are a wonderful person and an amazing boyfriend. It was just, as time went on, he started developing stronger feelings for someone else…me... and he couldn't gather the courage to tell you the real reason behind his breakup with you. He knew that telling you would break you completely._

_ But you needed to know why we both left and now you do. Hopefully you feel a little bit better knowing that we don't hate you although I know you will hurt for a very long time. Despite everything, please don't forget that I will always cherish our friendship and all of the memories from it. And I hope you find happiness in someone that deserves you like I have found in Yanagi._

_ - Niou_

It might have been the rain that started falling from the sky or the blood dripping profusely out of his hands and neck and face, but when Yagyuu went check the message to make sure it wasn't his imagination hoodwinking him, the words had became obscured and unreadable.

He turned the piece of wet paper over miserably and, to his mild surprise, saw that there was something more written on the back. Yagyuu had to squint to see since the writing was miniscule and light.

_P.S. If you can find all of the the pieces of the glass jar and put them together in a pile, then I will see you one last time..._

A flicker of hope. The entire idea sounded impossible, but Yagyuu lived to transcend the impossible. He wanted to see Niou again… to yell at him for running away, to slap him for worrying everyone, to hold him and ask him to come back because he had finally accepted his feelings just before he left… Fate was being unfair to him, robbing him of the two people that was precious to him, and leaving him alone to suffer.

Using the only light source he had, he frantically started searching around for the pieces and started forming a pile. The rain was starting to pour harder and harder, making the pieces even harder to see. Out of desperation, he started grabbing fistfuls of mud and squeezing it, hoping to find more of his precious glass. When his hand stung, he knew he was successful and would remove the piece quickly before resuming the painful cycle.

"I didn't know how to ask you!" Yagyuu hollered into the darkness. "I didn't know how to ask you how you felt about me!"

Another piece - another step closer.

"You told me you didn't like guys before!" Yagyuu threw a few slivers of glass furiously into the growing pile as he was ranting. "But then I figured out after a while that you had lied…"

He paused to wipe the rain water and blood from his face in exasperation.

"Didn't you say we were going to play as a doubles team together until we graduated high school?" Yagyuu continued yelling as he remembered the first day they had started playing together in the first year of middle school. The new recruits were randomly split into pairs by the captain, and it only took one practice for Niou to declare Yagyuu as his official partner because of his strong skills. At first, Yagyuu had judged him as a spontaneous troublemaker that lacked respect for anyone but himself, but the more that they played together, the faster he got over his first impression.

"Didn't you say we would win a National Tournament together?"

They were not on the regular team their first year, but were considered to be two of the strongest players of the the rest of the tennis club. Disappointed, they both vowed to train harder to become regulars the next year. Their second year came around and only Yagyuu was on the regular team when Rikkai won the tournament for the second time. Niou barely missed the cut. The day he got back, Niou proclaimed that he was going to go above and beyond the already high standard they had set for themselves so that he would make the team and accomplish their goal. Yagyuu had no doubts about his ability and he finally became a regular during the winter season.

He approached him later that day and asked him what motivated him so greatly that he improved at a record pace and astounded even the Three Demons when he played during the ranking matches. Blushing slightly, he mumbled that they were partners and he missed playing doubles with him.

"Didn't you say that we would be best friends forever?"

He would never admit it to anyone else, but his fondest memory was the day towards the end of his first year that Niou led him to his secret spot, the mahogany tree that Yagyuu was currently by, and said that he wanted to be best friends. He admitted that he was reluctant to open up to Yagyuu at first because he only partnered him for his talent, but the he found that he couldn't stop himself from sharing his feelings. Not only that, but it felt easier than it did with anyone else… like he didn't have to force himself to be accepted.

Yagyuu remembered saying yes without any hesitation. He felt the same way and offered his hand out to shake. Niou took his hand into his own with firm grasp and said that this was something he would never let break apart. Yagyuu trusted his word completely…

His cell phone's light was dimming - he was running out of time. When he was sure he found all of the pieces on the ground, he started pulling the pieces out of his skin one-by-one and added them to the substantially growing pile.

'_Will I ever get to scold you again for being late to school or practice? Will I ever get to help you again with a clever prank?' _Yagyuu thought, exhausted from yelling. He was starting to feel faint from all of the pain, but the agony he would feel from never seeing Niou again kept him going.

A memory of winning their match against Seigaku's Golden Pair from the Kantou Regional tournament filled him with temporary joy. The switch that they had been meticulously planning for months was thrilling and successful. The whole team, after getting over the shock of the trick and the heartbreak of losing the finals, gave them a playfully hard time about it and Yagyuu knew they were proud of them. Personally, he felt gratification in the fact that there was no other pair that knew each other as well as they did, showing how far they had come as competitors and as friends. They were somehow one person that day, not two people, that shared the same goals and dreams for their team and for themselves.

'_Is this the last one?'_ thought Yagyuu as he found a large piece embedded deep near his heart. He took a large breath and pulled it out, giving off a strangled cry. He was bleeding freely now and he held up his free hand to try to stop the flow. With his other hand, he set the piece on the pile and waited. Nothing happened for a few minutes and Yagyuu almost gave up. Then he heard something different - something that didn't match the sound of pouring rain through leaves…

'_It worked! Niou is here, like he promised…'_

He couldn't see him in the pitch darkness, but he knew it was him. It had to be him.

"You found all of the pieces, Yagyuu. I'm proud of you," said Niou appreciatively. Warmth was radiating from where he was and his cold, drenched body wanted to be closer to it. He reached upwards and felt a hand close around his, but before anything could happen, he faded into unconsciousness.

'_I guess it's too late…'_ he thought sadly as he felt the last of energy leave him. He was sorely disappointed that he couldn't say anything after trying so persistently…

They would never play a match together again. They would never switch identities again. They would never spend time getting to know each other inside and out again. There would no longer be a Platinum Pair. And he would no longer see Niou's beautiful smile again…

* * *

Yagyuu jolted awake, covers clenched tightly in his fists. His face was drenched in cold sweat and his breathing was frantic. His hand automatically moved to touch his chest near the heart and he felt that the area was dry. He touched his neck and his face before holding his hands out in front of him to make sure they were clean of blood.

"It was just a nightmare," Yagyuu said as he steadied himself. "It wasn't real… They didn't leave with each other…"

Taking a few deep breaths, he laid back down knowing that he had no one to turn to for advice or for comfort. He could not talk sense into his ex-boyfriend and he could not talk to his best friend about his problems. For the first time in his life, Hiroshi Yagyuu felt truly alone.

* * *

"Come on, this will work, you just need to have some faith…"

"I think this idea is ridiculous. Find someone else to do it."

"It has to be you. Let's go, we have fifteen minutes left before the start of the mission."

"I have a bad feeling about this. Do you remember when Yagyuu flinched when he saw what you had?"

"You're being superstitious. Besides, didn't he say it was just a nightmare?"

"What was this about Yagyuu?" Niou said as he went around the corner of the hallway, curious about the last bit of what they had said about Yagyuu.

"Geez, don't scare us like that Niou," Marui said, annoyed.

Niou shrugged nonchalantly, sticking one hand in his pocket and leaning against the wall.

"You've been listening the whole time, haven't you?" Marui inquired, blowing a small bubble with the gum he was chewing.

"Naturally. It's not my fault that you always talk so loud."

"Hey hey, cut it out you two," Jackal said, trying to stop a potential argument from arising. "Anyway, you wanted to know about Yagyuu…"

"Yeah, I do," Niou said, eyeing the object in Marui's hands that he couldn't see before when it was behind his back. He was a bit confused since all he saw was a message in a glass jar.

"I know, right?" Marui said as he assessed Niou's reaction. "For some reason, Yagyuu flinched when he saw this in my hands towards the end of lunch. And then when he asked him if something was wrong, he quickly denied it and said that 'it was just a nightmare'…"

"Yagyuu doesn't have nightmares hardly at all…" Niou said, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"And he seems a bit… different right now," Jackal added. "Or at least, for the last couple of days…"

"Seriously? He seems perfectly normal to me," Niou answered back, more confusion seeping into his mind. "I would be the first to know if something's wrong."

"Not necessarily. You are his best friend - if he really didn't want you to know, then he should be able to find ways to hide his feelings until he is very overwhelmed."

Niou nodded knowing that Jackal hit the target dead-on. After all, Niou did the same to Yagyuu not too long ago, so now it was just a waiting game until Yagyuu would give in and tell him, which would only happen if Yagyuu knew that Niou didn't know about his sudden, slightly abnormal behavior. They were more alike than most people thought they were.

"Thanks for telling me guys."

"Not a problem Niou," Jackal answered back. "We'll continue keeping an eye out for you."

Niou smiled. Jackal was one of the nicest people he knew and he made a mental note to get to know him a bit more than he already had.

"Changing the subject, what's in the jar?"

Marui grinned widely.

"It is a note that says 'Bunta Marui's absolute favorite flavor of gum is strawberry'," he announced proudly.

"What the heck?"

"You see, we're going to put this jar in the pond and one of my fangirls will hopefully find it and spread the word," Marui continued as Jackal rolled his eyes. "And then I will have all of these gifts of my favorite gum from my large number of fangirls. Jackal will benefit too since he won't have to buy me anymore for a while…"

"Wait… you have a large number of fangirls? What do they see in you?" Niou pointed out sarcastically.

"My charm, my optimism, my intelligence… you know, everything you don't have."

"Will you guys ever leave each other alone?" Jackal asked wearily. "Change the subject somehow…"

"How are you going to get the jar into the pond if you will be seen now and you will be in class for the rest of the day?" Niou asked, seeing a potential flaw in the plan.

"We've already thought about that, mastermind prankster," Marui taunted, blowing another bubble that Niou suddenly had an urge to smack into his face. "Jackal will throw the jar from the window of our English classroom when the pond is deserted just before class starts."

"You don't have English next."

"I know, we'll run in their pretending to play catch and I'll miss it when Jackal throws it. It has to be that room - it's the closest to the pond on the third floor."

"So Jackal has a limited timeframe to do this in and he has to be able to throw it accurately?"

"Yup. Genius, isn't it?"

"I still think it's crazy," Jackal said with a sigh.

"I agree with Jackal there."

"You two are no fun."

"Here's another question, how did you figure out that it was Jackal who had to throw it and at what distance and force?"

"Yanagi," Marui admitted.

"So you're not completely a genius," Niou said jeeringly as Jackal grabbed Marui to restrain him from attacking Niou. "Since you needed extra help."

"We tested it after school the other day," Jackal said, still holding onto the struggling Marui. "Yanagi knew I had an unexpectedly accurate and far throw so we had practice with me throwing glass jars at targets while Yanagi took the data down…"

"Whoa, he reaches new heights of data scariness every time I see him," Niou acknowledged, telling himself to be more careful around him so that his inner-most pranking secrets aren't discovered.

'_Or worse, used against me,'_ Niou thought dryly as Marui was finally released from Jackal's hold.

"What did you have to give him in return for his precious data?" Niou inquired interestingly. Hardly anything was ever given for free on the Rikkai tennis team minus Jackal and Yagyuu on occasion since they were genuinely nice. Yukimura manipulated you into thinking he is being generous. They all liked each other very much as friends, but giving away bigger things without a price was almost synonymous to giving into defeat. Sanada would not approve.

"Actually, that was the other surprising thing…" Jackal started as Niou's eyes widened in astonishment. "He didn't want anything."

"Did you ask?"

"Yeah we did when he didn't demand anything at the beginning," Marui chipped in. "Come to think of it now, he's been acting a little…. strange too."

"Maybe it's an illusion," Niou stated, trying to divert some attention so they don't go prying for some answers on Yanagi. "Like you got off easy this first time so the next time you ask him for advice, he'll double the payment."

"Man, that's cruel Yanagi! It's just like Yukimura! " Marui declared loudly. "I will beat you today in practice!"

"Hey, it's time," Jackal said, tapping him on the shoulder and looking out of the hallway window to make sure the target was clear.

"See you Niou!" Marui said cheerfully, stretching out his arms and jumping up and down, all anger evaporating instantly.

Niou watched amusedly as they started a pretend game of catch with the glass jar, quickly making their way towards the classroom. Their reflexes for throwing and catching were remarkably fast, making the fragile object look like a blur in the air. They disappeared into the classroom, and moments later, he could hear Marui's angry shout as he missed catching Jackal's powerful through from the doorway, the noise of Marui's bare hand meeting Jackal's bald head, and then two sets of apologies as their teacher scolded them for playing around. They left with their heads down, but the moment they got back into the hallway, they both grinned. Mission successful.

Niou left with a wave of his hand as his temporary excitement for a plan correctly executed went away to be replaced with some more concerning facts. Knowing that there was a chance that both Yagyuu and Yanagi were acting strange meant that something happened between them, but there was no way of being able to find out what it was without having one of them tell him. Niou could not read Yanagi to save his life, and he wasn't exactly close with him either, so his primary focus would have to be Yagyuu. He would need all of the luck he could get to figure out this frustrating puzzle.

* * *

The mission was much more successful than Niou and Jackal had originally thought as a beaming Marui came in with an armful of strawberry gum to stash in his locker. The word had gotten around what seemed like the entire student body within three hours, and two hours later, the nearby grocery store and the school's vending machines had been sold out. Niou wasn't going to be stealing gum from him for a while since he had solidly earned his prizes and his bragging rights. Now he needed someone else to prey on for a while…

The door opened and Kirihara came in, blushing slightly. Marui and Jackal had just shut the door on Marui's locker when they heard the noise, and turned around to see who it was. Kirihara approached them shyly with his hands behind his back, and as he passed Niou, he was able to see that he was holding a pack of strawberry gum. He couldn't suppress a grin.

"Uh, Marui-senpai…"

"What is it, Kirihara?"

Some incoherent mumbling came out of Kirihara and Niou had to struggle not to laugh. Marui had to ask him to repeat himself and he turned even pinker.

"I heard that your favorite flavor is strawberry!" he said quickly, whipping his hands from behind his back and holding out his gift in front of him. He had turned his head away in embarrassment. "And I wanted to thank you for always looking after me."

Marui was speechless. So was Niou. Jackal had to shake off the daze, but he was able to speak first.

"That was very kind of you, Kirihara."

"Thanks Jackal-senpai," he pushed the gum into Jackal's hands and took off for the courts as quickly as he could.

"…Wow…" came Marui's incredulous reply after Kirihara had dashed off. "I knew he appreciates everyone deep down, but I never thought he would actually admit it…"

"Now I wouldn't be surprised to see Sanada coming to you with a cake someday," Jackal said jokingly.

"Don't say such scary things like that, Jackal. Anyway, I'll have to thank him somehow. See you on the courts Niou."

"Yeah, see you."

Niou thought it was rather sweet of Kirihara, but his act of kindness meant that he had to find yet another person to prey on for the next week. He was running out of options.

* * *

"Yagyuu! What are you doing?" Yukimura asked, mildly annoyed from his spot on the bench. "Compared to the rest of the team, you're not performing as well."

"I'm sorry Yukimura-kun, I will try harder."

"Yes you will," came Yukimura's reply, which was more like a command that you had to obey for your life's sake.

Niou was at a loss. Yagyuu seemed perfectly fine to him and he had been watching his every movement like a hawk during practice. He brushed it aside as Yukimura trying to get him to really work hard since Yagyuu would be easily manipulated by a shot at his work ethic.

He glanced across the court where Yanagi was standing, watching the practice progress and collecting data as it went. Nothing was out of place with him either that Niou could tell. Jackal and Marui were their opponents for their doubles practice and they both gave Niou a subtle look that meant they didn't know what Yukimura was talking about either.

The practice progressed on with an atmosphere of excitement and ferocity as spectacular shots and saves from all of the players occurred. There weren't any unexpected incidents and nothing crossed Niou's mind as unusual until he noticed a minor drop in the speed of Yagyuu's specialty shot. Then he looked over and saw that Yagyuu's eyes were a bit glazed and his breathing was irregular. It was very strange since they had about the same amount of balls hit to them, but Niou was nowhere near short of breath and he was the one with weaker endurance of the two.

Marui and Jackal had to take advantage of this rare opportunity and started putting more pressure on by mixing up their shots and adding some more power. Niou didn't blame them - he would have done the same thing if he was the opponent. Yagyuu started missing some easy shots and ended up diving for one out of a last minute attempt, which he barely missed reaching.

He got up wincing slightly and brushing the dirt off of his shorts and shirt.

"Hey, you okay, Yagyuu?" Niou asked concernedly.

"Yeah, fine," Yagyuu said simply. "I'm just having an off-day. Everyone does."

"You didn't really need to justify yourself. I understand."

Yukimura was annoyed earlier - now he was furious.

"I need to excuse myself for a bit, Yukimura-kun," Yagyuu said apologetically.

"Good because I was about to tell you to go run laps."

"How many?"

"As many as you need to clear your head and get back to the game."

Yagyuu started off running, leaving behind Niou who was once again confused.

'_Yagyuu has never had to run punishment laps for his own performance - just the collective team ones,'_ Niou thought to himself as he tried to figure out what could be eating away at him so badly that it would affect his tennis playing. He had absentmindedly taken a step towards the direction that Yagyuu had left in and was immediately scolded by Yukimura.

"No, you cannot run laps with him, Niou," Yukimura warned sternly. "You didn't do anything below today's standard. Yanagi - partner him."

Yanagi made his way over with a curt nod towards Yukimura and a small smile for Niou. They had only been partners a few times for a short period, but they had never really played in a match. Marui and Jackal knew this fact and they grinned devilish at the thought of utterly crushing them. Niou smirked back - he was feeling quite malicious from being inwardly irate at Yukimura's punishment on Yagyuu and confounded by Yagyuu's abnormal behavior. Plus he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of winning and neither was Yanagi.

Practice was over and everyone made their way inside to change and go home. Time ran out before their match was finished, but they had surprised Marui and Jackal with a late comeback that impressed both Yukimura and Sanada (who had just finished his practice with Kirihara). Niou had a lurking feeling that they were considering using their combination for a match during the National Tournament, but he was totally fine with that since they ended up working stunningly well together.

Yagyuu was not present since he had ran laps the entire time and now was so exhausted that he could barely make his way to the locker room. Niou was a bit infuriated with this recent development in Yagyuu - wasn't he given a choice to stop running when he felt better? If it was Niou, he would have stopped running as soon as he could have, but Yagyuu's persistence to keep going seemed like he was trying to ruin himself.

He ran ahead of everybody to go check on Yagyuu, who he found laying down on a bench outside of the locker room with his eyes closed, completely drained. The rest of the team (minus the Three Demons) went inside with a wave and Jackal gave him an encouraging smile.

"You know, you really didn't have to run the entire time…" Niou started, sitting down next to his head.

"I had to… my performance was poor."

"Weren't you able to clear your head enough to come back to practice?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to run for my physical performance, not my mental healthiness."

"Because nothing's wrong, right?"

"Yes - nothing's wrong." Niou peered over his face and saw that his eyes were still closed, rendering him more unreadable than he already was.

"I was just mad that I was not up to my usual standard…"

"Personally, I think you're too hard on yourself sometimes," Niou stated truthfully. "The world isn't going to end because you missed a couple of tennis balls that you should have gotten."

Yagyuu sighed deeply before talking again.

"Have I been acting normal?" Yagyuu asked quietly and Niou stiffened up slightly, but luckily, Yagyuu didn't see that.

"Of course you have," Niou answered back reassuringly. "I don't know why Yukimura called you out, but I assumed it was because he wanted to push you to work harder."

"It was a good tactic from him," Yagyuu confirmed with approval. "He definitely aimed at one of my stronger traits."

"If something was wrong with your behavior or attitude, I would know immediately," Niou lied. He would apologize later when the time was right, but this was definitely not the time. It was almost time to initiate his latest scheme.

"Thank you for looking out for me."

"Not a problem. Changing the subject then, I would like to ask if you wanted to do something this weekend."

Yagyuu's eyes fluttered open in surprise.

"That's tomorrow," he noted.

"Well, it sounds cooler to say 'the weekend'".

"Uh… what did you want to do?"

"I want to go to our secret hideout and have a picnic!" Niou said brightly. "We can study if you want, but I think it will be enjoyable."

Yagyuu looked hesitant to Niou, which brought some more concern into Niou's thoughts, but before he could answer, Yanagi came by because the meeting was over.

"Hiroshi, are you okay?"

"I'm fine really. Just tired," Yagyuu claimed.

"I'll walk you home just in case," Yanagi offered, holding out his hand.

"I was just about to offer…" Niou added, trailing off as he saw Yagyuu take Yanagi's hand and pull himself up.

"It's okay Niou-kun, I'll go home with Yanagi-kun so you can take care of some other business."

'_Boyfriend over best friend,'_ Niou thought sardonically as reality sunk in again. He wanted to be the one holding his hand.

Yanagi caught Yagyuu who was trying to steady himself firmly on the ground. Yagyuu thanked him and straightened up before looking at Niou.

"I'll see you later Niou-kun."

"Sure thing," Niou acknowledged casually. "Oh, and Yagyuu?"

"What is it?"

"About what I asked earlier… I won't take 'no' for an answer," he said seriously, but then added a radiant smile for playful effect. He went into the locker room before he could get any form of response and left when he heard them coming in.

While Yagyuu was running his laps, Niou had spent part of the match formulating a plan and was amazed it didn't distract him from playing well. He was sure that being partnered with Yanagi helped since he was able to cover any gaps that Niou may or may not have left wide open. The hardest part of making the plan was finding a way to ease Yagyuu into telling him because forcing him would have been a bad idea.

Someway or another, that led to using their secret spot as a location and using the idea of a picnic study party as a guise for what Niou was really after. Niou recalled that both of them had said on numerous occasions that they felt absolutely at peace there, so it was his best bet to stage the operation there. Now he just needed to go get some tasty food to further entice him.

Weeks ago, Yagyuu had not tried to dig deep into Niou's problems and Niou did feel slightly guilty that he was not giving him the same respect. He argued with himself that there was no harm in this situation since he didn't catch Niou physically interacting with someone and so everything should be alright once things were cleared up. It was the least he could do to comfort him since he could never have him like he wholeheartedly wished he did.

He sighed as he continued walking home, tossing an uneaten apple in the air with one hand and watching it fall into his hand. He was a bit annoyed with himself that it took him as long as it did to notice that Yagyuu's behavior resembled his own from the time of the library incident. He was completely normal on the outside, but if he had looked at him much closer, then he would have seen that Yagyuu was an empty shell, especially during the practice.

The apple missed his hand a second time and hit the ground with a dull thud. The unwritten rule of friendship that dealt with respecting personal boundaries was really a double-edged sword. He didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow, but he was willing to risk to find out. He hoped that their friendship was strong enough to get them through whatever it could be, but it didn't completely erase his sudden anxiety.

Yagyuu was a puzzle with over a million different pieces that Niou could never completely solve, but he never stopped trying. He was unquestionably addicted and didn't want to stop.


	12. Chapter 12 True Desires

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi.

**Rating:** T+ for minor-major suggestive adult themes.

**Author's Note: **When I said in Ch. 11 that this chapter was going to be much easier to write, it only ended up being half true. x.x The delay was due to being in my last semester of college (this semester I'm intern teaching) and having so much to do with wrapping up classes and being heavily involved in the marching band. And the chapter required so many things that needed to be tied in from previous chapters...

Thank you x 1,000,000 to all of my readers and reviewers! It's great to hear so much positivity and have so much support for my first fanfic ^^

So anyway, here is what you all have been dying to read for the last few months - please review if time allows. Enjoy!

* * *

Yagyuu woke up feeling groggy and disoriented. He sighed and turned over a couple of times before, heavy with mental exhaustion. Slipping the covers off of his weary body, he took a glance at his alarm clock. It read 11:30pm, which was two hours past his normal Saturday wake up time.

He frowned in frustration - he could have sworn he set his alarm the night before. He also wondered why his mother didn't wake him up since she knew how strict he was with his schedule.

Choosing not to change out of the clothes he slept in, he made his way downstairs to where his mother was busy making an unusually large amount for lunch while humming softly to herself.

"Mother?"

"Oh, you're finally awake, Hiroshi!"

"Why didn't you wake me earlier?"

"You needed the sleep. You didn't seem to have slept well the last two nights."

Yagyuu groaned softly - he was hoping that his mother wouldn't notice that he was troubled.

"And also," his mother continued. "Niou-kun came by in the morning and I am amazed that you didn't hear the doorbell…"

"What? Niou-kun came by?" Yagyuu questioned in surprise. "Did he tell you why?"

"He said that you two were going on a picnic," his mother answered back endearingly. "But I told him to come back in two hours and hopefully you would be awake. He seems to really be looking forward to it seeing that it was odd to me that he was up earlier than normal…"

Yagyuu wanted to smack his forehead - he had completely forgotten about the picnic. He felt completely unprepared and mentally flustered. On top of it all, he didn't really decide to go - Niou decided for him.

Before he could answer back, the front door opened and a brightly grinning Niou strode in whistling a chirpy tune.

"Oh, you're finally awake Yagyuu," Niou commented, characteristically stretching his name out with a drawl.

"I slept through my alarm," Yagyuu admitted, embarrassed.

"You must have needed the sleep real badly. For a second, I thought you might have been avoiding going on the picnic by sleeping through it, but then your mother said you had a rough night the other night."

"It was just an intense nightmare," Yagyuu reassured. "But I'm fine today."

"Another one?" Niou asked in surprise. "At least you were able to get extra rest. You're going to need it for today."

"Am I allowed to ask what you have in store for me?"

"Certainly not. It's just simply a picnic," he said with a discreet wink to Yagyuu.

"Here you go, Niou-kun," his mother said, handing over a picnic basket bursting full of food.

"You're the best!" Niou said, taking the basket from her, flashing a radiant smile and taking a peek. "Wow, you didn't have to do all of this. Pretty much all of my favorite food is in there."

"Not a problem at all," Yagyuu's mother answered back, blushing slightly. "I'm so glad that you're doing this for Hiroshi. It will be something nice after such an exhausting week."

Niou grinned even wider at Yagyuu, who quickly avoided his gaze by looking down at himself.

"I need to change quickly. I'm not appropriately dressed." Yagyuu mentioned before briskly taking off towards the stairs and into his room.

First of all, he was irritated that his mother not only knew he was struggling, but she also let Niou know, who was the main part of the problem. Second, he felt embarrassed that he wasn't neatly dressed when Niou showed up (not that he had much forewarning). His hair was mussed from tossing and turning and he was dressed in a t-shirt and athletic shorts - not good for a public appearance.

Lastly, when he saw Niou come in the door, something in his stomach stirred, almost as if he had butterflies, but not quite. Niou was like a ray of sunshine and Yagyuu felt overwhelmingly warmed by his appearance. The way his blue-green eyes sparkled and the way he was grinning was stunning. He was not remotely astonished that his face felt hot from the mix of emotions that he had felt when he was downstairs.

He sighed and started looking at the clothes in his closet for something suitable to wear. In his search, his hand brushed over the shirt that Niou had lent him on the day of heavy rain.

It was then, when his heart skipped lightly, that he knew Yanagi was right all along about his hidden feelings. It was almost as if Yanagi was the catalyst that caused all of his feelings to come pouring out of him, although it was sort of a jumbled mess after it happened.

'_I am in love with Niou,'_ Yagyuu thought as he finally chose a shirt and started pulling his t-shirt over his head. '_I've always been in love with him.'_

He pondered these recently discovered thoughts as he worked on buttoning up his shirt. As much as he wanted to be happy with being in love again, feelings of uneasiness and fear started to seep in.

'_What happens if Niou really doesn't feel the same about me?'_ Yagyuu questioned himself as he was removing his athletic shorts to put on a pair of khaki pants. Yagyuu knew that one of his greatest fears was losing Niou's friendship, and all of the unknowns and uncertainties with what was in store for him in the future did not give him any peace of mind.

"Hey Yagyuu!" greeted Niou from the hallway, surprising Yagyuu who was currently in the process of zipping up his pants. He fumbled with the zipper as Niou threw open the door and popped his head in.

"Don't come in without permission!" Yagyuu said with alarmed annoyance.

"Sorry Yagyuu," Niou said apologetically. "You were taking a while so I just wanted to make sure you weren't passed out on the floor or anything."

"I'm glad to hear of your concern," Yagyuu said breathlessly, trying to slow his heart rate down. "Well, I'm ready now."

"Don't forget to grab your books. We're studying, remember?"

"Oh right."

He went over to his desk and started to gather up his materials.

"Here let me help you so we can get going quicker…"

He moved a bit to his right to allow Niou to slide next to him. Niou grinned and started helping out enthusiastically, which Yagyuu was thankful for since he felt very lost in thought still.

He suddenly felt Niou's arm reach around his back to grab for his book bag, causing his temperature to shoot up almost immediately. A part of him wanted to lean back to be touching more of Niou's arm, but he restrained himself.

"Whoo!" Niou exclaimed as he managed to get a hold of the book bag and started putting in the books that he needed. "Now we're ready for a fantastic day. Minus the studying of course, but that was part of the deal…"

"Yes…" came Yagyuu's reply as his thoughts flickered to what he would have to confess to Niou later that day. He wished that it didn't have to be so hard sometimes.

* * *

It took forty-five minutes instead of the usual fifteen to get to their secret abode because the duo had to take a detour to the grocery store for some bottled drinks and a pack of playing cards since Niou's was taken away by one of their teachers the other day. Niou didn't seem to mind one bit because he knew he deserved it after building a house of cards right in front of the doorway that the teacher walked into absentmindedly, and when he shut the door, a large bucket of ice cold water fell onto him, soaking both him and the cards. Sometimes Yagyuu wondered if Niou really liked standing up to authority or just liked the solitude of detention a little too much.

When they arrived at their secluded area by the lone mahogany tree, Niou quickly set down the basket, reached in his backpack, and pulled out a traditional red and white picnic blanket. He hoisted it up in the air swiftly and the slight breeze combined with his speed caught it to spread it out. He laid it down gently, but with a flourish that reminded Yagyuu of a professional waiter setting down a glass of wine on a table.

"Where did you get the blanket, Niou-kun?" Yagyuu asked politely, working on pulling some of the food out of the basket.

"Found it in the garage. My family used to go on picnics a lot when I was younger."

"Having it certainly makes this picnic feel authentic. Along with this basket, food, and beautiful weather."

"Amazing how things work out, right?" Niou agreed. "The only thing that makes the picnic not a true picnic is the fact we have to study."

"It was your idea."

"Only to get you lured in," Niou replied. "Now where should I start first?"

Yagyuu watched Niou scrutinize the pile of food he had set out before choosing to line up a sandwich, a bag of chips, an apple, a bowl of blueberries, a piece of strawberry cheesecake, and a large slice of watermelon with a determined focus. Then he stood up and walked away a few yards before turning to face his lineup.

"Am I allowed to ask what you are doing?" Yagyuu asked apprehensively, re-adjusting his glasses.

"Questions, questions, you always have so many of them," Niou ridiculed jokingly. "Just watch."

Yagyuu saw that he was rapidly shuffling the playing cards he had in his hand with a dangerous grin on his face.

"Are you going with red or black?"

"Umm… I'll go with red… Why?"

With a snap faster than a whip, Niou launched a playing card into the apple, startling Yagyuu slightly who should have been more on guard about what was going to happen. He did the same maneuver with deadly accuracy to the sandwich, the cheesecake, and the watermelon, and he tossed the other cards more carefully so they landed on top of the food rather than in it.

"So any food with spades or clubs next to it or in it is mine."

"You know my mother would have packed two of each."

Niou jogged back over and started examining his prizes.

"Shh… you're ruining the fun," Niou scolded, patting him on the head and Yagyuu brushed his hand off testily. "Ooo… it looks like I did well."

Yagyuu couldn't help but smile slightly as Niou gathered up the cheesecake, chips, and watermelon closer to himself. Even though he acted all stiff and serious when it came to Niou's ridiculousness, he still enjoyed how carefree and unique Niou's personality was. He just needed to be kept in line most of the time for his own sanity.

"You did that on purpose," Yagyuu stated. "Because you got all of your top favorite foods. And all of the unhealthy ones too."

"Nope, you chose the color. I shuffled before you picked."

"Knowing you, you probably had it rigged somehow."

Niou looked aghast.

"Me? You would suspect me of all people? I am completely innocent," Niou retorted dramatically, clutching his shirt and dropping his jaw.

"You're as innocent as Yukimura-kun appears to be."

"Touché. Just remind me to tell him you said that."

"He'll probably send you off for laps and then congratulate me for acknowledging his deviousness."

"…Damn… you're right."

"About Yukimura-kun or your food selection process?"

Niou laughed before answering that it was both.

"Now here, eat this apple, it has your name on it," Niou offered, picking the fuji apple off of the blanket and handing it to him with the card still sticking out of it.

"You could have at least taken out the card," Yagyuu said as he pulled it out, turning it face up to examine it. Indeed, it was a red card, a Knave of Hearts more specifically, but he noticed that his name had been hastily scribbled in the margin and he looked at Niou skeptically.

"When did my name get here?"

"A master magician never reveals his secrets. And no, none of the other cards have your name on it."

"I will figure you out," Yagyuu declared softly as he bit into the crisp apple. He wondered if he would have picked up on how Niou did it if he was in his standard frame of mind without troubled thoughts. Then again, Niou hardly ever failed to surprise him from time to time.

"You already have… you just don't know it," Niou added as he munched on some chips happily.

They continued eating the bountiful amount of good food that had been provided to them as they talked about school, tennis, and the beginnings of Niou's latest scheme that Yagyuu was asked to be a part of. Their conversation was a normal occurrence at their hideout - it was something sincerely enjoyable, relaxing, and fun.

Their exchange was definitely all of that to a certain degree today - the only hindrance was the mass of anxious and uncertain thoughts that were occupying Yagyuu's mind. He tried his best to shove them aside so that he could wait until a different time to explain everything to Niou, but he knew he could not keep putting it off for much longer.

'_It ends today,_' Yagyuu thought. '_And something starts anew…' _He did not want to lose what they had and all of the laughter and discussions they shared. He certainly did not want to lose him as his tennis doubles partner when they were so close to achieving their dream of winning a National Tournament together. He dreaded the thought of dealing with that uncomfortably awkward atmosphere that would happen if they were forced to still be together if things turned for the worse.

Then there was the chance of good things happening too. Getting together would mean growing closer together, which would be interesting since they already knew each other inside and out. Being united with Niou would mean that life would never get dull since they'll be exploring fresh and exciting things that the world had to offer. If they were comprised of puzzle pieces, Niou would be the only one with all of the correct pieces to be able to fill every one of the holes that Yagyuu had.

'_Yanagi had asked me a question yesterday. "What would you do if Niou was not in your life?"'_ Yagyuu recalled as he finished drinking his tea, full from eating. He reached into his book bag for a textbook and flipped it open, pondering his latest thought. He knew he had no answer because he did not want to fathom a world without his beloved best friend.

* * *

Yagyuu stared at his textbook trying to read, but found that his mind kept wandering to what Yanagi had said the other day. Snapping out of his trance, he looked behind him to see if Niou had noticed, but Niou was laying down, reading the same kind of textbook with a furrowed expression.

"… I hate English…" Niou said, dropping the book on his face. "Can't I just copy your notes?"

Yagyuu pushed his glasses further up his face, turning away from him back to his own book.

"No, Niou-kun. Not this time because you need to learn this for the exam."

"Next lecture then?"

"Sure - if you score higher than 85%"

Niou sighed.

"You'e not fun."

More silence passed between them as they both went back to studying. Yagyuu absentmindedly tapped his pen on his notebook as he was reading while Niou kept tossing and turning on the picnic blanket. After ten minutes, Yagyuu couldn't concentrate anymore.

"Okay fine! Take them," he said as he threw his notebook next to Niou. "Be glad I pay attention in class for you."

Niou grinned as he turned onto his stomach to grab them.

"I know I'd win eventually. Thanks."

Yagyuu sighed heavily before shutting his book.

"You always do."

Niou started furiously scribbling in his notebook while Yagyuu watched him. He noticed the way he ran his hand through his shock of silver hair, the way he sometimes bit his lip in frustration, the way his piercing blue-green eyes darted across the page…

'_How did I not recognize that I loved him earlier?'_ Yagyuu questioned himself as he found himself wishing that those eyes were scanning over him instead, that he was running his hand through his hair, that he was biting his lip in frustration of not being enveloped in his strong arms…

A recent memory floated to the top of his mind. It was from the day before after practice when Yanagi walked him home. Most of the walk had been in silence, but there was a point just before he arrived home where they did talk and Yanagi expressed that he was indeed really devastated inside, but he had no regret in his decision because he knew that it was for Yagyuu's best interest.

'_"You didn't realize you had feelings until Niou… I'm doing the same for you."_ _Yanagi had said when we arrived at my house,' _ Yagyuu remembered. It was the final thing he had said before gently kissing him on the lips and holding him close from a brief minute. _'Why do I have such a hard time seeing my true desires? What is keeping me from trusting myself?'_

"Something wrong, Yagyuu?" Niou questioned, snapping Yagyuu out of his pondering.

"No, why do you ask?" Yagyuu tensed up, thinking that Niou would mention that he had been staring at him.

"Because you never tap your pen while you read," Niou said matter-of-factly.

Yagyuu let off a mental sigh of relief. So he didn't notice after all.

"Preoccupied."

"Let's take a break then," Niou said excitedly, throwing his things aside.

"You're quick."

"Never say much, do you?" Niou pondered, rolling back over onto his back and tucking his hands behind his head. "But you're talking much less than normal these last few days…"

Yagyuu tried to ignore him, but he was sure Niou was right. Yagyuu prided himself on never revealing more emotions than absolutely necessary. Only Niou being his closest companion and Yanagi being his ex-boyfriend would be able to read him.

"How's everything going with Yanagi? You two doing anything you shouldn't be doing yet?" Niou asked, voice laced with playful curiosity.

Yagyuu's heart stopped for a moment. He didn't think that they were going to talk about Yanagi right then and he wasn't expecting Niou to bring it up. All of the courage that he had gathered up earlier to tell him today evaporated and he felt panicked to come up with something convincing.

"Don't lie," Niou warned, all humor in his voice gone now. "I know when you do because you look to the left and cross your arms."

'_That's the price I paid when we started impersonating each other,'_ thought Yagyuu. '_He knows all of my habits…'_

"We broke up," Yagyuu said stiffly. He bowed his head and wrapped his arms around his knees.

'_There is not turning back now… I knew that the moment I told Niou, it would feel so… final and real…'_

"What?" Niou sat up from his spot on the ground with a jolt. "Since when?"

"Since three days ago," answered Yagyuu indifferently.

"And you didn't tell me… why?"

"Doesn't concern you."

There was a pause as Niou moved to sit right next to him.

"You're hurting."

"Am not."

"Liar."

Yagyuu had enough. He violently threw his textbook away from him and stood up.

"Get out," he said threateningly, pointing towards the path.

"Not if you don't tell me why," Niou replied, unfazed by Yagyuu's abnormal and vehement behavior.

"I don't have to tell you anything," Yagyuu said defensively, crossing his arms and glaring at Niou.

'_What am I doing? Why am I pushing him away?'_

"Fine, then I'm going to burn your notes so you fail your exam."

"Go ahead. I have them memorized."

"… Damn you for being good at school," Niou pouted.

'_I'm afraid of rejection and of loss...'_

"Are you done yet?"

Niou rose off of the ground and walked to stand in front of Yagyuu.

"We're best friends," Niou reminded him. "I'm supposed to be the only one you share your secrets with."

'_But not this time…'_ Yagyuu thought sadly.

"There's a good reason. Believe me," Yagyuu pleaded genuinely.

Niou stood there waiting for an answer that never came. Yagyuu's face was expressionless, and after ten minutes, Niou issued an exasperated sigh.

"If that's how you want to be, I don't want to be best friends anymore."

Yagyuu felt like he was stabbed in the heart and that the knife was twisted in the wound. There was no way he could believe what he had just heard.

"You're joking.. right?" Yagyuu asked uncertainly, struggling to remove the shock from his face.

"No," Niou said with a hint of annoyance. "You know my habits as well as I know yours so you know I'm telling the truth."

"Niou-kun…"

Niou turned his back on him, heading towards the path out of the forest.

"I know I'm stubborn. I'll just ask Yanagi… I'm sure he'll tell me. See you."

Yagyuu snapped again. Grabbing Niou by the collar of his shirt, he pulled him towards the tree and slammed him against the trunk. Clutching Niou's shirt with both hands, he peered into those beautiful yet infuriated eyes.

"Fine! It's you!" Yagyuu cried angrily. He wanted to hate Niou for bringing him to this level, but he could only hate himself for letting down his gentlemanly demeanor and for giving into the weakness of fear.

Niou could only look at Yagyuu, dumbfounded at what had just happened.

"Yanagi-kun said that my heart wanted you more than I wanted him, but I didn't realize it!" Yagyuu couldn't contain himself any longer, shaking with every word he spoke.

"He broke up with me and said that I should be with you and that he'll only take me back if you didn't love me in return. And I hesitated in approaching you because… because…"

"You wanted to get back together with Yanagi?"

"At first, but now I know it was because I was afraid that you would never want to be near me again if I asked." Yagyuu loosened his grip on Niou and looked into his eyes. "Because what Yanagi-kun said about my feelings was true… because I don't want my heart broken again by someone I love…"

"Yagyuu…" Niou said gravely, looking away.

"… What is it?" Yagyuu asked, concerned about the revelation.

"The truth is… I don't like boys."

Yagyuu couldn't suppress it anymore. Tears started slowly sliding down his cheek as he looked down towards the ground.

"I knew it… Let's forget this ever…" Yagyuu was cut short as Niou pulled his face in for a kiss.

"I only like this one person who I would not call a boy, but a gentleman," Niou said, eyes sparkling brightly with happiness.

Yagyuu was taken aback and rendered speechless as Niou's arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer to his warm body.

"You tricked me!" Yagyuu said, outraged.

"They don't call me the Trickster or the Swindler for nothing," he said, lightly laughing as Yagyuu wiped the tears from his eyes.

"And the card in my apple earlier…"

"A literary device called symbolism. If you were acting normally, you would have questioned why I chose a certain card for you instead of asking how your name got onto it, and when I didn't tell you, you dismissed it so quickly. You're sharp and observant and you know my habits well enough to know exactly how I did it so that confirmed that something about you was off. I figured it was worth a try to put my feelings out on the line and I was hoping you'd ask so you wouldn't have had to muster up all your courage later."

"Trying to give me an easy way…"

"It was the best I could do without asking you directly."

"If you're the Knave of Hearts, does that make me the Queen of Hearts?" Yagyuu asked cynically.

"No silly, you're the King of Hearts. Stay within your appropriate gender." Niou dodged Yagyuu's half-hearted attempt at a slap.

"One more question, when did you know I wasn't feeling well?"

"Yesterday around lunchtime. You can thank Marui and Jackal later because I happened to eavesdrop on them in the hall about how you flinched when you saw the glass jar they had. And then they mentioned that Yanagi gave them advice for free, which didn't add up."

"You knew all along and didn't approach me? How unlike you to seize an opportunity."

"Well, I didn't know exactly what was going on. I just knew that something happened between you two…"

"You know, listening in on other peoples' conversations is not usually a good thing, but this time, it worked out for the better."

"Imperfections are part of my charm, Yagyuu," Niou said cheerfully. "Besides, you went one question over the limit you had just set."

Yagyuu didn't feel like answering as Niou squeezed him a little tighter.

"So… when did you start falling for me?" Niou whispered in his ear, softly and sweetly. Yagyuu's heart knew the answer before his mind could even think about it.

"I knew the moment you impersonated me to reveal my feelings to Yanagi because…" Yagyuu trailed off, putting his arms around Niou. "It showed how much you cared for me… willing to sacrifice your own happiness for mine. I was just plain ignorant of my strongest feelings."

"… It was tough watching you in the arms of another man," Niou admitted. "But I was happy for you and Yanagi, really I was."

"I know," Yagyuu said. "Thank you for everything…"

It was Yagyuu who pulled Niou in for a second kiss, a deeper and more passionate one than the first. It was also Yagyuu who ran his hand through Niou's hair first, who moved his soft kisses to Niou's neck, who started to tug at Niou's shirt…

"You know…" Niou said contentedly as he felt Yagyuu's hands on his chest. "You are absolutely perfect in every way, flaws and everything, and the best thing I can do for you is to give you my whole being…"

It was then that Yagyuu surrendered, closing his eyes and allowing Niou to kiss him again by drawing his face closer to his. He felt Niou's smooth lips meet his, causing his heart to catch fire.

He parted his lips slightly and Niou took the opportunity to slip his tongue slyly into his mouth, and Yagyuu's body involuntarily pressed against Niou's in response. Yagyuu could feel Niou's grin even as Niou continued to kiss him heartily, barely stopping for air.

Yagyuu let out a small gasp when he felt Niou's hands pull his shirt up from where they were tucked in his pants. Niou's tongue danced playfully in Yagyuu's mouth as his hands worked their way up his chest under his shirt - the feeling of his coarse, athletic hands against his smooth skin was making him flush with pleasure.

Niou's mouth left his and trailed kisses up and down his neck. Yagyuu grasped Niou closer to keep from losing his balance and Niou chuckled appreciatively. His eyes were still tightly closed from being aroused - a feeling that kept exponentially increasing since he didn't know what Niou was going to do next. He didn't want to appear to be giving in so easily, but every ounce of resistance he possessed ebbed away with every kiss that Niou gave.

"You know, I would have never thought you were so submissive," Niou seductively whispered into his ear. "Maybe it's because you are always telling me what to do and what not to do…"

"Niou-kun, I…" Yagyuu started to answer back, but was halted by letting out a sharp hiss as Niou rubbed one of his nipples with his fingers under his shirt.

"You wish you weren't so sensitive to touch," Niou finished, continuing his sensual whisper into Yagyuu's ear, his nose lightly touching Yagyuu's head. "I wouldn't worry about it because I actually really like this side of you for this particular… activity…"

Yagyuu trembled slightly as Niou continued teasing his nipples between his fingers and squeezing them unexpectedly from time to time to cause Yagyuu to let out stifled noises of pleasure.

"Why do you like me… like this?" Yagyuu struggled to get out as Niou's mouth covered his again.

"Because this is one of those moments where you will let your guard down and be emotionally exposed. I can sense your feelings, your dreams, and your desires more clearly and I know that you want to be satisfied. And I enjoy having you in my captivity and seeing that I can make you feel like you are in heaven…" came Niou's honest answer as he started unbuttoning Yagyuu's shirt, still kissing him deeply. His body was now moist from the summer heat and the physical action he was being subjected to.

Not a long moment later, he felt the soft fabric being tugged along his skin until it left him completely, falling to the ground behind him. Opening his eyes, he saw that the sunlight accentuated his pale chest brilliantly and that Niou stopped for a moment to take in the display with ardent delight. Yagyuu blushed, feeling unprotected and bare, as he saw Niou poising himself up for his next move with a predatory facial expression.

He bit his lip when Niou suddenly dived to trace the lines of muscle on his chest with his tongue. The unpredictable alternation between licking and sucking was sending him up into the heights of ecstasy, and he sank down against the mahogany tree when he lost all will to remain standing. Niou climbed on top of his legs and continued his relentless assault, having no mercy on his sensitivity.

"Hiroshi, I think I've stripped you of all control," Niou pointed out, stroking a hand across Yagyuu's lower abdomen. "Also, if you blush because I called you by your first name, I can't wait to find out what state you'll be in once I start doing more… intimate things to you…"

Quicker than lightning, Niou removed his own shirt and threw it next to Yagyuu's. He was about as developed as Yagyuu, but he was skinnier, making his bones a bit more prominent. He grinned and positioned himself over Yagyuu so that he could do the same things to Niou's chest that were done to him.

"I know you would be mad at me later if I kept giving and didn't allow you to give back," Niou stated. "You always want to be fair, my gentleman."

"Niou-kun, would you really be content with me being the only one that received pleasure?" Yagyuu questioned skeptically. "It seems a bit unlike you to be so indulgent."

"When it comes to you, I'd do anything to make you happy," he said sincerely as he stroked his face. "Now, my body is aching for your touch, and if you deny it any longer, then I will have to take away your need for balance and fairness and resume taking advantage of yours."

Yagyuu could not suppress a laugh before pressing his lips to Niou's chest. He ran the contour of his rib bones with his fingers as he tasted every square inch of skin hungrily. He smelled soothingly of fresh mint and he had to stop for a second and inhale the invigorating scent. Niou was not showing nearly as much audible reaction as Yagyuu had shown to him, but he felt him grip him harder at times when he barely grazed sensitive spots on his upper body.

Meanwhile, Niou's hands had wandered down Yagyuu's chest and unbuckled the belt on his pants. Before Yagyuu could protest, he had yanked the zipper down and plunged one hand down, fondling around until he found what he was seeking.

If Yagyuu thought he was at the height of ecstasy earlier, it was minuscule in comparison to the surge of intense feelings that suddenly coursed its way through every vein in his body. He had a sudden impulse to let out a loud moan, but was able to repress to a small whimper. After hearing Niou snicker softly, he knew that no matter what he uttered, the reaction was going to be the same. His hand was hot and was adding more to the blazing heat that had accumulated in the area.

"Shall I stoke that fire some more, Yagyuu?" Niou offered enticingly. "Or would you rather have a little moisture to subdue the flames?"

"I highly doubt the moisture will stop the inferno, Niou-kun," Yagyuu pointed out. "It's probably going to defy the laws of nature and cause it to grow."

"Water not stopping fire… Interesting," Niou acknowledged, now working his pants down his legs. Yagyuu desperately wanted Niou's hand back where it was previously before he took it away to aid his other in removing the obscuring article of clothing.

"Regardless, fire needs two things to work properly. One is material, which you and I have plenty of. And the other…" Niou paused to remove Yagyuu's boxers. "Is oxygen."

Yagyuu couldn't help but turn slightly red as he lay there, vulnerable and now completely naked. Niou smacked his lips playfully as he teased around the area with his hands, but never touching the area that Yagyuu longed for him to address.

"Stop teasing me," Yagyuu implored through clenched teeth. The anticipation was killing him and Niou knew it. His breath hitched when Niou bent down to kiss him so close to the target, but barely missing on purpose.

"So, what will it be? A stroke?"

Yagyuu moaned as he was stimulated along his length by a hand that was earlier caressing his face, rubbing his nipples, and exploring all the places on his body that had never been discovered before. There were fluxes of pressure and friction with each stroke that drove Yagyuu to new extremes of blissfulness.

"Or some moisture?"

He let out a louder moan when Niou's mouth suddenly took him in and he felt his soft tongue swirl around him provocatively. His teeth narrowly and lightly scraped him, but in an intentional way that caused him to weaken to more waves of delight. When Niou groaned with him still in his mouth, Yagyuu almost went over the edge as he writhed against the tree.

Far too soon, Niou released him and pulled him into an embrace.

"Why did you stop?" Yagyuu inquired politely, hiding the fact that he severely wanted to continue being aroused.

"I just want to do this right the first time," he explained. "So I want to say that I truly love you and I will only go ahead if that is what you want."

"Niou-kun… I'm so touched…"

"I really want to make a snide comment to your last statement, but I'll refrain this time," Niou said, grinning brightly. "Anyway, I know you've always wanted to take things slow and to wait for when the moment is right… that the best things are not instantly gratified. I want to respect your wishes."

Yagyuu pulled him into a loving kiss once he finished his reasoning, causing him to finally let out a gasp of surprise.

"I love you Niou-kun. I've loved you forever and now I'm so overjoyed to finally be with you. And I really feel that the right time is now because we're finally together and I know for certain that you are the right one for me."

"Really?"

"Would I ever lie to you?"

"You would attempt and fail, but I was afraid that my seducing skills might have addled your normal thinking."

Yagyuu paused to gather his thoughts before responding.

"Never in my life have I been so sure of my decision."

Niou's grin brightened more if that was even remotely possible. He diligently started taking his pants off in response and then pressed his lower body to his lustfully, causing Yagyuu's back to arch in euphoric response.

"I hope you understand the perilous decision you have now committed to. Now I just have to get you extremely aroused again, which shouldn't be too hard since you're easy to turn on, and work my magic from there…"

Yagyuu was about to say something in response to his remark, but involuntarily let out another moan as Niou took him back in his mouth and started a rhythm that changed tempo rapidly and was both vigorous and tender in feeling. The strength of pleasure that engulfed him was exceedingly potent and he could barely contain it any longer. What was once thought to be impossible became possible - he felt like he was defying gravity.

"Niou-kun…"

"Mmm… Yagyuu…"

"I'm glad that Yanagi-kun is always right with his predictions."

Niou laughed appreciatively, pausing to take in Yagyuu's handsome facial features and strong body. Reaching towards Yagyuu's face, he removed his glasses and set them in a safe place away from them.

"Me too. We're lucky we have a data genius to take care of things," Niou said appreciatively before lowering Yagyuu's upper body onto the picnic blanket. "I hope you're ready because I'm not going to hold back any longer."

Words can't remotely describe what happened between that point and when Yagyuu found himself breathless with his head resting Niou's chest and a content smile on his face. It was all a ferocious blur of exhilaration and adrenaline although he remembered the exact moment his keen gray eyes locked into Niou's alluring blue-green eyes. He looked diabolical for a quick second, eyes glinting in a way that let Yagyuu know that he wanted to deny him release, but it was all a pretense as he moved him from what was imaginable into the unimaginable...

Yagyuu's world was incomplete until he was with Yanagi. Then it became a sphere of glass that seemed flawless. Little did he know that Yanagi was going to be the one with the hammer that would shatter his unknowingly fragile world into scores of fragments. However, the combination of the pieces falling together had created something new and wonderful, and best of all, something unbreakable and beautifully complete.

* * *

**Author's Note:** And here we are at the conclusion of As the Pieces Fall Together. *bittersweet moment* I'm glad to finally say that it's complete, but I will miss working with the Platinum Pair and their intricate and complicated personalities for the time being since I will be busy with intern teaching. I know they'll be back again in some shorter fics so I'll look forward to that. I have a short Alpha Pair fic that will be uploaded in this month that I've been hanging onto until this fic finished. And I have some drabble-ish fics too that are Rikkai-centric. I have the beginnings of a longer Alpha Pair fic (set before this Platinum Pair fic) and an AU Rikkai one based on my photoshop creations (I made the Rikkai players into Fire Emblem characters ^^) in my notebook that I hope to get more done with as time goes on. Look forward to it!

Some final thoughts on this fic...

Two summers ago, I started on this fic, but I actually wrote this last chapter intending for it to be a short fic. Then I got to thinking, 'How did they get to where they are?' and mapped out an outline of events that led up to this. Looking at the sequence of events, I split it into chapters and named each of them before I started writing from the very beginning. With each event, I was able to expand upon it in each chapter and accidentally create symbolism and irony in the process. And everything made it to the end exactly right - most of Ch. 12 was exactly how it was written originally, but some added content (mostly in the beginning) to tie in things and give it a better transition. I know that the reason I was able to finish the story was because I was able to work towards the end goal. *organizer by nature*

Yanagi will be just fine. If there was an epilogue of some sorts, I'm sure that Yagyuu would have thanked him for everything and made sure that he will be okay. Then, after some caring thoughts from Yukimura (and possibly Sanada), the winds of fortune will start to come towards him. Actually, one of these days, I will write a Yanagi fic picking up for this point. I know I will after I finish my other big fic plans :)

And lastly, after all of that dramatic turmoil (among many other things), the Platinum Pair is finally together! 3 They deserve all of the happiness that the world has to offer ^^


End file.
